《An Unusual Town》


 Introduction

    A figure sat alone at a desk looking out the window.  It was night, but you could still see the chaos going on outside.  However the chaos did not seem to effect the figure as he sat quietly at his desk. He just watched with a bored look.


    It''s not that he did not care about the events going on outside, it''s just that he didn''t want to deal with it. He turned back to the paper on the desk with a sigh.


    [ Kaz please look into the missing bodies from the graveyard.


    - Undertaker ]


    Just this single line was on the paper. Picking up the paper and shoving it into his pocket he walked out into the night.


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    I walked out onto the street only to be surrounded by the sounds of chaos. There were people screaming, running, slamming doors, crashing cars, and so on. I sighed. Calmly walking down the sidewalk I went through today''s events.


    The day had started just like any other. I woke up and went to work at the City Hall. Reviewed the preparations that needed to be done for saxophone day. Then went back to the office to fill out reports and look into changes that needed to be made to the town. However the peaceful day was shattered when my secretary came to the office with a request from the Undertaker.


    Now here I was at the cemetery to investigate the cause of the empty graves. I looked at the elegantly done metal gate and fence. Some might question why there was a cemetery in this new and relatively small town, well they obviously have never been here.


    A small thin man with gray hair came walking to the gate.


    "Thank you for coming Kaz. I have been worried all day about what to do." said the man in a sacred and grateful voice. His hands fidget nervously as he continued. "Could you please come this way. I want to show you the graves as quickly as possible." The chaotic noises from the town started to fade a little as we walked further into the cemetery. "I''m not sure what caused it, but it looks like the dead climbed out of the graves.  Except for this one."


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    We stopped in front of a grave in the middle of the cemetery. It had obviously been dug up from the the outside.  A pile of dirt sat by the grave and the coffin at the bottom was flipped open.  On a closer inspection there was a smell like sulfur emitting from the grave.


    "Did you ask the "Resident" if anyone had come over last night?"


    The Undertaker opened his eyes wide in surprise.  "N..N..No. I did not. I thought it would be better not to disturb the "Resident" with such a trivial matter."


    I raised an eyebrow. [ The disappearance of the entire graveyard was a trivial matter? ]  I walked over to the only crypt in the graveyard and knocked on the door. The Undertaker followed behind me nervously.


    The crypt door opened slowly revealing a tall dark shadowy figure.  It was wearing a long black cloak hiding its features. "Yes?"


    The Undertaker took a slow measured step back. Repressing the urge to roll my eyes I spoke to the "Resident". "Did you see anything last night or today around the graves?"


    The "Resident" tilted it''s head in an animal like fashion as it thought about the question.  "...No, I do not believe I did. The graves were quite and nothing has felt wrong. However it feels quite different now.... Why is that?"


    "So even you don''t know." I sighed "The reason why it feels different is because the graves are empty. "


    "I see... If you are wondering were the bodies are, they seem to be wondering around the town?" the "Resident" looked a bit confused as it said this.


    "Unfortunately we know where they are we just don''t know the cause.  Thank you for your help." I turned and walked back towards the town that....[ is that a fire? Did they light something on fire?!  What are the police doing? ! ]


    I quickened my pace leaving the "Resident" and Undertaker behind. [They better not have set my town on fire! ]

 The Culprit of the Undead Infestation

    The Culprit of the Undead Infestation


    Hurrying to the town I saw that many of the central buildings were on fire. Moaning limping figures wondered around the streets after panic stricken citizens. I walked swiftly to the head of the police trying to keep moaning corpses at bay while letting the living pass.


    "Chief,  can you tell me what is going on?" I asked as soon as I was in front of her. She turned her bright blue eyes to me and smiled a thin tight smile.


    "Well there really isn''t much to tell. Its basically what you see before you. The moaning corpses from the cemetery are chasing the living trying to eat them. Some people have been unlucky and have been.... eaten by them. We tried to kill a couple but they just keep coming.  They don''t even follow traditional Zombie rules and die when shot in the head." She frustratingly said.


    "What are Zombies?"


    Chief looked at me confused and asked in a disbelieving voice, "How do you not know what zombies are? No, wait, never mind. Zombies are the walking dead. If you are bit, you turn into one. You are supposed to be able to kill one by dealing significant damage to the brain but these do not die."


    I nodded my head and began to ask another question when an officer ran up to us.


    "Chief,  Kaz. There is something you should see."


    Chief and I followed the officer to the edge of town.  Once there we saw a flood of lights and tons of people doing construction.  I frowned and walked up to one of the workers,  with Chief following closely behind.


    "Hey, what are you doing to my town? !" The worker eyed us cautiously.


    "We were paid to build a wall around this town in at least two days or sooner. "


    "Why?"


    "The Zombies of course!  The government haired us to do it so that we arn''t attacked by the zombies too." With that he turned and went back to work. building a wall as quickly as possible.


    I turned to Chief with a tiered look. "Do not tell anyone about the wall. Also try to help as many people you can make it back to their homes as possible. Tell them to turn on the town radio station and wait for more information.  The houses in town should be able to withstand the Zombie attacks."


    "Understood. " With that the Chief was off to carry out the orders.  The officer standing to the side looked torn for a moment before heading off after his superior.


    I watched the work being done for a few more minutes before heading back to the City Hall through the continuing chaos. [ If this doesn''t clear up soon saxophone day will have to be cancelled, sigh.]


    I opened the door to my office only to find a teen sitting at my desk. He looked to be about 19 years old, with chalky brown hair,  and silver eyes. I sighed internally, [ What could the Necromancer possible want? ]


    I shut the door loudly making him jump. "Well hello there Necromancer. What brings you here on such a wonderful night?"


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    "Oh come on Kaz. We''re closer than that. Just call me Terry." He said with a pleasant smile. I frowned, [Terry my ass. ]


    "I see, Terry. What brings you here tonight. Would it have something to do with the living dead outside? Or maybe you have information on the desecrated grave?" I stared hard at Terry as he fidgeted.


    "Hahaha, you got me." he said with a bit of guilt.  "In all fairness I did not mean to affect the whole graveyard.  I had just meant for only one grave to be affected by the spell."


    I pressed my head in an attempt to get rid of the headache I felt coming on. "Can you please, tell me why the corpses are moving?"


    He looked at me sheepishly "Well....I was testing a spell for immortality. Before you ask why corpses.  Their already dead, so it doesn''t matter if they dead again, right. Hehehe. But the spell didn''t work..."


    An explosion happened outside shaking the windows. I glared at Terry.  "Well apparently it worked. The dead are now walking and they don''t seem to go back down."


    "Did you try shooting them in the head?"


    [ Does everyone know about Zombies? ] "Yes we did, but they continue on like nothing happened.  It is incredibly frustrating. "


    Joy was plastered all over Terry''s face when I said this. I glared at him. "You do realize that what you did was a clear violation of the rules. You will have to be punished."


    "WHAT WAS IN VIOLATION OF THE RULES! ?"


    I watched silently until he was done. "One, entry into the graveyard without permission." he flinched "Two, unauthorized experimentation on the dead." Terry shrunk down in the chair. "Three, causing fires in town."


    "That ones not fair, I didn''t start the fires."


    "No, but you caused the fires to happen by unleashing a dead horde onto the town." Terry started pouting. [What a child.]  "Since there are only three counts.... I guess I can reduce the punishment. You can be my assistant until I get a new one."


    Terry paled "Ummm.... Kaz.... I think I would rather take the normal punishment. ....."


    "Nonsense, this is way better than the normal punishment."


    "NO IT''S NOT! EVERYBODY DIES WHEN THEY ARE YOUR ASSISTANT!  I DON''T WANT TO DIE!"


    "You''ll be fine. You can''t die anyway. "


    "YES I CAN! I''M A NECROMANCER! NOT SOME INVINCIBLE BEING! I CAN ONLY BRING THE DEAD BACK BECAUSE I''M ALIVE!"


    "Stop being such a whiner. The others only died due to ignorance.  You just have to be smarter. With that, the first thing you are to do is to find out more about these Undead. Then tomorrow come here with a report about what you''ve learned. Now off with you."


    Terry got up and slowly walked to the door. "As you wish Master Kaz." Then left. [ Finely all by my self. ] I sat in my chair and leaned back. All that was left was to wait for the report. Slowly I drifted off to sleep lulled by the sound of screaming and fire.

 Im Sorry

    I''m Sorry


    The wind blew harshly scattering sparks and carrying away the screams of pain and suffering. This wasn''t an unusual sight, but no matter how many times you saw it one would still shutter in horror.


    The burning of witches started in Europe then made it''s way to the U.S. A natural but uncalled for fear of the unknown was spread all along the western world.


    I had seen this type of thing before but on a smaller scale. Restricted to a single town or village.  However this was aloud to spread so quickly and far due to the current wide spread religious belief that condemned anything mystic.


    I had even come close to being on that stake, but managed to escape in the dead of night.


    I watched has a poor girl was drug up to the stake and tied up. The mother watched in horror and screamed for her daughter''s release.  She pleaded and struggled but to no avail.  Her husband held her back as he cried while whispering to her.


    The mob lead by a priest piled hay and wood at the bottom of the stake. One of the condemners lit a torch. The girl had just been staring out at the crowd, probably in shock, but as soon as the torch was lit she started crying in terror.


    Her sins were read off as the crowd stood around and listened. At the end the signal was given to light the fire. Her mother collapsed sobbing as her daughter was engulfed in flames.


    They always try to solve their problems with fire no matter how much time passes.  I pulled the hood on my cloak further over my face and walked away hoping the next town would be more peaceful. knock....knock....knock.


    I awoke in my office to the sound of knocking on my door. The sun was shining through the window, and it was much quieter outside.


    "Come in."  I rubbed my [ A dream? ]


    "Master Kaz, I have come with the report as you have asked." Terry said as he entered.  He stood in front of the desk looking perfectly healthy. [ See I knew you would be fine. ]


    "Good."


    "Most of the citizens have made it back to their homes unharmed. A few that were bitten we have quarantined to monitor. As for the Zombies, at around 5 this morning they ran to the edge of town.


    As to why, it seems like they are attracted to sound. The town was relatively quite by then so the most noise was coming from the construction at the wall. Should I tell you how many were bitten and attacked at the wall?"


    "No, it''s fine. I''m not in-charge of those people. They have to figure out how to handle that on their own."


    Terry smiled brightly at my comment. "I see, that makes it easier to say this then. I used some of the workers as bait to try and get as many Zombies out of town as possible."


    "Is that why it''s so quite now? Well anyway did you find out how to kill them?"


    "No," Terry frowned slightly.  "they seem to be immune to anything I''ve tried. It''s quite troubling. Especially since I couldn''t get rid of all of them, and after the attack the efforts on the wall tripled. They should finish it by 8 am."


    "Hmmm... Thank you. We''ll let them finish the wall. As for the remaining Dead lets hold a meeting to discus plans to deal with them. Lets say around....1. That should give the counsel enough time to gather. You can go home for today. "


    "Good day Kaz. See you at night." Terry walked out closing the door silently behind him. I pulled my mic and radio out to make the usual morning  announcement to the town.


    "Good morning Shadow Wood. I have noticed that an infection has been spreading among the local populous, and many have come to me with concern about it. In response I have done my best to find some answers to your questions. If you follow my guide lines everything should be fine.


    I¡¯m sure you have noticed the graves in the local cemetery are empty. Do not be alarmed as this is to be expected. It would appear that we have a Zombie out brake on our hands. Now what are Zombies, will they harm us, why are they here? These are the questions I have been asked and have been asking myself. As we have received no instruction from the government about them I have taken it upon myself to find out.


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    First, what are Zombies? Well from what I can tell it is the dead come back to life. They seem to be roaming around the town moaning. My assistant went out to find out more about them and we discovered that they can not talk. They also seem to be attracted to sound. This brings us to the next question.


    Will they harm us? Well as my assistant was immediately attacked once the Zombies noticed he was there, I am going to say yes. It seems that they will start attacking you in packs, like wild dogs. So I suggest that we stay well away from the Zombies. Though I do believe that it is OK to go about your every day activates if you are quite about it. Think of it as if you are playing the quite game. Only if you make noise you wont lose, you will die.


    Alright this leaves the last question.  Why are they here? Well we now know why the Zombies came to be and why it started in our town. For this explanation we have a letter from the Necromancer.


    ¡°Dear future dead, I apologies for the recent out break of Zombies. It was an experiment that got a little out of hand. As to why I have not addressed the problem, well I don¡¯t know how to stop them. I have spent this time trying to figure out how and nothing seems to work. However I have learned many things about them.


    First they are attracted to noise. So please be as quite as posable if you see one. Second they seem to enjoy music. For some reason they all seem to dance the shuffle if you play LMFAO¡¯s ¡®Party Rock¡¯. I do not know why but it is great if you need to walk around, and don¡¯t want to be attacked. Lastly they look to be immortal. I know it sounds absurd but so far its true. Everything I have tried has not even made one slow its pace.


    With this I hope you will forgive me,


    - Necromancer


    P.S. It seems that the Zombie I was experimenting on has escaped. If you see her please contact me. Her name is Sasha and she is a scaredy cat.¡±


    Now we know who caused it, and since he has apologized I say we forgive him. Also if you see Sasha you can contact the Necromancer by going to the building called Undertaker. He works there.


    On another note  the government of this country has decided to build a wall around our peaceful community. I was told that it was to protect the rest of the world from the ''Zombie'' out brake. However this plan was foiled by a horde of ''Zombies'' attacking the workers like a pack of wild dogs on a fresh kill.  Alright now remember if you see a disfigured moaning figure do not approach it. Good luck and I wish you luck the quite game.


    Your local leader,


    Kaz"

 What Could Possible Go Wrong?

    What Could Possible Go Wrong?


    Dark clouds started gathering in the sky around noon blocking out the sun. By 12:30 it was pouring rain. I watched as the rain put out any of the remaining fires from last night.


    At 7 o-clock I had announced to the town that the "Zombies" were attracted to noise. So it was for the best if they all went about their business quietly as the ''Zombies'' were still wondering around town.


    The wall was finished at 8 o-clock like Terry said. It effectively cut off our town with the rest of the world. Not that it would really change anything about Shadow Wood.  It just made some things more complicated then before. But as for food and water we''re fine.


    9 o-clock I decided to take a walk around the town to see the extant of the damage. As I walked, I meet Chief who told me 5 buildings had burned down. Luckily they weren''t major buildings so it was fine. I had walked back to the City Hall around 12 to due some paper work before the meeting.


    Now however I was headed to the meeting room to consult them about the remaining ''Zombies''. I stopped outside the door and sighed.  You could hear voices arguing on the other side. Straightening I opened the door.


    "Good afternoon." I said pleasantly, talking a seat. "What seems to be the problem? "


    The argument halted to look at me. The one with shaggy brown hair and yellow eyes spoke first.


    "Someone is responsible for giving the Necromancer information on mass resurrection and I want to know who!" He growled angrily while glaring at the girl across the table. She had gold fluffy hair and blue eyes.


    "I told you I don''t know. It was not us who started this dance of the dead." She whispered harshly.  Her hair got a twinge of pink and her eyes were going red.


    [That''s right I forgot how secretive Necromancers are about the extent of there ability.] "Don''t lie. You Fae are the only ones who could do something like this." Growled the brown haired man.


    "How dare you! You mutts wouldn''t even know the culprit even if it smacked you in the muzzle!" The Fae''s hair was now entirely pink and her eyes a blood red.


    The brown haired man gripped the table hard enough to crack it. [ sigh ].


    "Calm down. If it''s about the Necromancer I will find out who gave him such information." Everyone turned their attention to me. "As for punishment I have taken care of it. There is a more pressing matter than this we must discus."


    "What punishment did he receive?" The brown haired man asked.


    "He is my new assistant.  If anyone has a problem with that talk to me after the meeting." I looked at them each in turn. "Now we still have some dead bodies wondering around. We needed to come up with a plan to get rid of them. Any suggests?"


    The Fae spoke up. "Do you mean Zombies? " [ Seriously, does everyone know about Zombies? ]


    "...Yes I did."


    "Can''t we just hit them really hard in the head?" asked a figure covered from head to toe in black.


    "No. You can''t. The ''Zombies'' are completely unfazed by this."


    "So their not Zombies? " asked a silver hair and eyed child sitting next to the Fae.


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    "Well that''s hard to say. They are the walking dead, but so far we haven''t found anything that kills them."


    "I see..." said the gargoyle in the corner.  "How about we lure them into the crypt and let the ''Resident'' handle it."


    "Yeah we should let the mysterious destroyed each other." agreed the goblin next to the brown haired man.


    "Wai...."


    "Lets do that." said the deathly pale women drinking a glass of red liquid.


    "...Fine, but I''m not involved in what happens afterwards."


    "Of course." she smiled faintly "I would never dream of causing you trouble Kaz."


    I glared at her. "Make sure of it." sweeping my eyes around the room I ended the meeting.


    Back at my desk I started the general news announcement. Normally there would be at most one announcement a day, but two in one day was very unusual. Luckily the citizens were trained to have a radio tuned into the local station at all times in case something like this happened.


    " Dear citizens the wall that circles Shadow Wood has been built. They worked hard and fast to complete the wall early. I had received news earlier that some of the Zombies had escaped the town last night and attacked the construction workers. This made the workers more motivated to complete the wall.


    Now we are trapped in our small town with the Zombies. However I have some good news. We have discovered a new way to get rid of the horde. Our Council has suggested that we lure the Zombies to the crypt and lock them in there. We hope that the local ¡°resident¡± in the crypt will take care of them for us.


    On that note we are now looking for Volunteers to act as Zombie bait at the graveyard. If you would like to act as bait, please come to the town hall for more information. We are serving drinks and snacks to those who wish to participate. Please come at 4pm for briefing and planing. If all goes well we may even be able to have Saxophone Day on the 7th.


    Your Local Leader,


    Kaz"


    I ended the announcement and looked out the window with a smile. [Now how will this play out? Hehehe]


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    Authors Note....


    As the characters will start to increase drastically after this chapter I''m going to start putting the Name and what they are down at the bottom of each chapter. If you would like me to add more info at the bottom just ask.


    Kaz - Shadow Woods''s Mayor


    Terry - Necromancer


    ''resident'' - lives in a crypt =p

 Crypts are Ment to Stay Shut

    Crypts are Ment to Stay Shut


    The council quickly gathered volunteers to lure the <del>Dead</del> .... ''Zombies'' into the crypt. It was a rather simple plan.


    First make a lot of noise drawing the <del>Dea</del>... ''Zombies'' towards them. Then run to the crypt opening the door and somehow shoving the <del>De</del>... ''Zombies'' in. Lastly, shut the crypt door trapping the .... ''Zombies'' inside. Hopefully the "Resident" will take care of the rest.


    I shook my head as I watched the deathly pale women explain the plan to the volunteers. [ This is not going to end well. ]


    She finished her explanation with a flourish. The volunteers cheered in determination as the walked outside. I walked up to the roof of the building to get a bird''s view.


    "Kaz?"


    "Terry?  Why are you up here?" Terry was standing at the edge of the roof.


    "The same reason you are, I guess." He walked over to me. "I don''t know what that group of people are doing, but it''s sure to be entertaining."


    "Yes, it will be interesting to see. They plan to drag the ''Zombies'' to the crypt and have the ''Resident'' take care on them." I walked to the edge of the building to see the volunteers.


    "Ho... Does the ''Resident'' know? " Terry walked up next to me.


    "No."


    "What? You didn''t tell it?"


    "No, I thought that it would be more fun to just watch what happens. "


    "..." Terry turned back to look down at the group of people on the ground.  "That''s evil. What do you think the ''Resident'' will do?"


    "I don''t know." I smiled as I watched the people call all the ''Zombies'' in town to them. Then take off running.


    Terry shook his head. "They are crazy. "


    "I agree. Come on we are losing site of them." I jumped to another roof. Terry was following closely behind.


    We stopped on the last roof before the graveyard. The volunteers were run through the gate headed for the open crypt door.


    "The ''Resident'' won''t notice that the door is open?" Terry asked.


    "No it won''t.  It in the middle of the day right now so it won''t notice unless someone stabs it." I confirmed while watching them beat the ''Zombies'' into the crypt. One of the volunteers got grabbed and dragged in.


    "Ahhh! Nooooo!"


    "That was a little heartless." Terry said, watching them shut the door on the volunteer once he was all the way in trapping him inside.


    "Yeah, but now they have doomed themselves." The remaining volunteers looked sadly at the door.


    "What do you mean?" Banging noises could be heard from the crypt, causing the volunteers to run as hard as they could away.


    "Now the ''Resident'' can find out exactly who is responsible for disturbing Its sleep." No one was left anywhere near the area. "Shall we go?"


    Terry looked at me strangely then glanced back at the crypt.  "Yeah, ok."


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------


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    Sitting at my desk I reviewed some papers. Earlier today I found out that the band for Saxophone Day had been brutally eaten by the ''Zombies''. This ment that we didn''t have a band for tomorrow''s event.


    It was good that the ''Zombies'' were taken care of before the actual day preventing the work required for rescheduling.


    "But couldn''t they have left the band alone.  Sigh...." I mumbled. At this point even if it wasn''t to late to get a new one the new wall prevented it.


    A soft knock came from the door.  I looked out the window and noticed that night had fallen.  [ Guess it is time. ]


    "Come in." A shadowy figure walked? levitated? to in front of my desk.


    "Good evening Kaz. How has you day been?" The voice was quite and low.


    "Good evening. My day has been fine. What brings you here tonight ''Resident''?"


    "Oh, I''m sure you know why. However I also know that it was not you who did it. Would you mind announcing this tomorrow over the radio?"


    I frowned as I took the paper that was passed to me."You could announce it yourself."


    "No it is alright.  The threat is good enough without me announcing it. But I am serious about taking the one responsible for disturbing my slumber."


    I looked at the note it handed me. "Sigh... Do you mind raining in your rain of terror to only when its dark out?"


    "... No.... I can do that. Why?"


    "If not you will interfere with Saxophone Day tomorrow."


    The "Resident" just stood there quickly for a moment. "Are you serious?"


    "Yes I am. Do you know how much paper work is involved with planing events? A lot. And if you go around terrorizing people in the day, the event will have to be rescheduled."


    "Hahaha" the "Resident" clutched at Its stomach.  "I understand.  I will only do it at night. I didn''t realize you were so concerned about paper work."


    I glared at it. "If it weren''t for you I would still be traveling around the world."


    "Nonsense.  You were tired of traveling anyway. You should thank me. Now you have a town you can rest in."


    "If you mean doing endless amounts of paper work, and randomly appeasing people then yes. I have had plenty of ''rest''."


    "It''s good to try different things." I could sense a smile on that hidden face. "I have to go now. I''ll come see you again."


    "See you. Bring me a gift next time."


    The "Resident" left laughing quickly closing the door behind it. [ Now then. ] I packed up my documents and shut off the lights. It was definitely time to go home and get some restful sleep tonight.


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    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Terry - Necromancer


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt and a friend of Kaz''s

 How I Wish For a Slow Day...

    How I Wish For a Slow Day....


    I stood on top of a building looking out at the neon lights. It had been a while since I had last been here. Everything is different now.


    Last time it had been carriages and gas lamps, but now there were cars and light bulbs. However that was long ago.  Nothing stays the same.


    I watched as a party across the way reached its peak. Sirens cried in the distance. [ It''s about time I go. ] I started walking down the stairs to the street. However a figure blocked the way down.


    "Nice night is it not." the voice was quite and deep.


    "...Yes it is..." the figure shifted a little with the breeze.


    "...I saw you and thought I should say hello." said the figure as it walked closer. "I have seen you around the past couple of days. You don''t seem to follow the habits of humans."


    I watched the figure cautiously. "..."


    "Oh, no need to be so cautious. I don''t plan to do anything.  I can tell that you are something outside of time, just like I."


    "Is that so?"


    "Yes, acutely I have a proposal to make. How would you like to run a town?"


    I raised my eyebrow. "Now why would you offer such a thing? This is the first time we have meet."


    "That is true. It is the first time we meet. However I have been watching you. You are able to blend in and understand the ways of humans." the figure looked up at the moon. "Also I need a place where I can rest without being hunted by humans."


    "This has nothing to do with me. If you are tired the go rest."


    "It is just as you say. However I am not the only one who is tired . It is also getting harder to hide from the humans. Many  supernatural creatures are having  hard times these days."


    "Even if that is so. There is nothing I can do about that."


    "That is why I said run a town. If we have our own town then we can rest without having to worry about the humans."


    I looked out into the city and considered this. "Even if we have our own town.... We still need to fit in. At least on the surface."


    "For that we needed someone with knowledge of humans. We already have land to use. We just need someone to run it. Someone who has knowledge and enough power to lead us."


    "Is that so... It might be interesting to try.... beep...beep...beep...beep...


    I smashed the alarm. [ ... ] Getting up I looked around the room. Small with a window on one side and a door on the other. Stretching I got out of bed.


    Today was Saxophone Day. A holiday demanded by some of the populous and rejected by others. [ Ha.. the traditionalists want it and the modernists don''t. ]


    I walked out into the street to be greeted by the sound of saxophones and talking.


    Slowly but surely I walked through the crowd to make it to the City Hall. There were stands set up for carnival games, drinks, food, and music.


    I finally made it into the building only to be greeted by my secretary.


    "Good morning Kaz. I have a letter for you from the town next to us."


    "Good morning Lisa. How did that letter even get here."


    "Carrier pigeon." Lisa handed me the letter.


    ''Mayor Kaz,


    Please provide sanctuary to the people of  Redroad. The situation has turned dire. There are Zombies everywhere. No where is safe here and hope that your town would be willing to take in at least some people from Redroad.


    Mayor David Baker''


    [ Sigh...  Really now. ] I folded up the paper and walked to the front desk.


    "Lisa, can you ask Ali Baba to make a permanent two way portal on the west side of town? Make it from the wall to the middle of the forest. Also make sure that only living things can go through."


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Will do. Anything else?"


    "No, thank you and good luck with Ali Baba."


    I walked into my office. [To let normal people into this town. This will be tricky. ] Dialing the phone I called Jasmine a  leader of the water Fae.


    "Hi Jasmine this is Kaz. Can you do something for me? I need three people to go to Redroad and bring survivors into town."


    "Hmmm... Does this need to be done today?"


    "Yes, if possible I would like it to happen by 2 pm."


    "I understand.  I can chose anyone that I want, correct? "


    "Yeah that''s fine. I''m having Ali Baba make a portal at the west wall."


    "Alright.  I''ll have a group ready by 2."


    "Thank you. Bye."


    "Bye."


    Just as I set the phone down the power cut off. [ For gods sakes! ] Standing up I headed for the town power plant.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------


    I walked to the power plant on the south side of town. The power plant was why the town still has power after being cut off. Occasionally the town would lose power for one reason or another,  but it worked most of the time.


    I walked into the power plant only to be greeted by yelling.


    "What are you doing!"


    "Graaaggghhh."


    "No, I don''t have an extra!"


    "Graah."


    "Where is the other one!"


    "Ragh."


    "What do you mean you don''t know?! You.... he was just next to you!"


    "Grah raaagh."


    [ Sigh.... ] I followed the sounds up to the second floor. "Hey Van. What is the problem."


    Van and a solidified dirt doll turned to look at me. "Hi Kaz, how is your day going?" asked Van as she smiled presently.


    "Actually so far not to bad when compared to the rest of the week."


    "That''s to bad." she looked comically sad for a moment the brightened up. "At least today is better. Why don''t you come to the office and we''ll have some tea. Oi! Dirk! Go find that wrench to fix the pipe."


    "Gaaarrhhh."


    "No, it''s in the tool box!" Van smacked Dirk in the back of the head. The Dirt Doll wondered off in what I assume was the direction of the tool box. "Find that other one too!"


    "Gggrrraaahhhh!"


    "Well shall we head to the office. I have this wonderful new raspberry tea."


    "That would be nice." We walked to a small coroner room that was.... comfortably furnished. [ Her taste is as strange as always. ]


    We each sat on a chair that showed the internal organs of humans. Van on the male one and me on the female one. We faced each other as she poured the tea.


    "So what caused the electricity to go out this time?"


    "Oh~ just the usual?. One of the Golems slipped and fell three stories destroying wiring and pipes on his way down. Then a couple of the Golems tried to catch him only to destroy the walkway in various places."


    "I see... How long do you think it will take to get the electricity back online?"


    "Not long at all?. Maybe~ tonight. Bwahahaha!" Van laughed crazily causing her body to shake violently.


    "Good.  I''ll tell the town about it." Looking at the time I saw that it was 11am and I still had other things to do. "Thank you for the tea but I must go now."


    Van nodded and walked me to the door. "Good luck and see you." She closed the door and from the other side you could here, "Oi! What the hell are you doing! Don''t touch that!" Crash!


    [  Sigh... ]  I headed back to my office. [ Now how shall I tell the town..... ]


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Terry - Necromancer/Kaz''s Assistant


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt/ Kaz''s friend


    Lisa - Kaz''s secretary


    Jasmine - Water Fae Leader


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Van - In charge of the Electrical Plant


    Dirk - Golem employees of the Electrical Plant (all Golems are called Dirk)

 Refuges Have Arrived

    Refuges Have Arrived


    Saxophone Day was in full swing when I made my way to the western wall. The citizens of the town were still safe even after making so much noise proving that the unorthodox plan to get rid of the ''Zombies'' had worked. Well at least in this town.


    Outside the wall you could probably safety assume a full on Zombie Apocalypse was happening.  As evidence a note from Redroad stated it.


    As we are now even more cut off than before it was impossible to tell what the situation was like and frankly I didn''t care.However Redroad was different. Redroad''s Mayor David Baker had helped our town out quite a few times. If a letter requesting help came it was only right we did everything we could.


    However a problem still existed. The survivors, if any, were normal people who had no contact with the supernatural. In fact the ''Zombies'' were their first contact.  [ Sigh... not much I can do about that. ]


    I spotted Ali Baba in the distance.  Looking at Ali Baba you wouldn''t be able to tell that she was a wicked witch that used tp eat children.


    She had long blonde, almost white,  hair with dark brown eyes that were  almost black. However she looked to only be in her early thirties.


    "Kaz," said Ali Baba with a smile "its been to long really.  What three, four years?"


    I walked up to Ali Baba and hugged her. "Ali it has been to long. How are the kids?"


    "Hehehe, the kids are doing great. Inta has gone off to help the Fae in their realm, and Usor is spending his days researching new magic."


    "That''s good to hear. I''m sorry to have to drag the subject to work,  but is the portal complete? "


    "Yes, and to your orders. One entrance on the wall, and the other entrance in the middle of the forest. Nothing dead can get through the portal though.  I think the Vampires will have a hissy fit over this."


    "Let them. It''s for the safety of the town that dead can''t get through. Plus they don''t need a portal to leave the town."


    "Hehehe,  that''s true."


    "Kaz!"


    Turning around I saw Jasmine with three men behind her.


    "Hey Jasmine, are they the rescue team?"


    "Yep. Since I''m asking them to go out into a dangerous area I chose three silkies. They should be able to handle it."


    "Good, I''ll go explain the mission." I walked to the men who had stopped out of ear shot of us. As I walked I heard Ali Baba and Jasmine start talking.


    "Master Kaz, what can we do for you?" The one in the middle asked.


    I handed him the letter I received from Redroad. "Your mission is to go to Redroad and search for any survivors.  If any are found bring them back to town. You can access the town by going through that portal.  It''s two ways and no dead can get through. Remember this is a rescue mission.  There is no need for you to fight the Zombies head on. Get as saviors out and bring them into town. "


    The three read the letter in silence as I spoke.  At the end they all spoke in unison. "Understood."


    The three silkies went through the portal and began their mission.


    "I hope they stay safe." muttered Ali Baba.


    "Nothing we can do now. Lisa, can you have one of your familiars stay here an tell us when the silkies come back?"


    Lisa who had been standing quietly to the side until now spoke up. "Yes I can. Do you have a specific one you want to stay? "


    "No that''s fine. Any will do."


    "Understood." Lisa summoned a crow to watch the portal.


    "Thank you Lisa. Well Ali and Jasmine I will have to bid you fare well. Lisa and I still have work to do."


    "Good bye Kaz, Lisa. "


    "Fare Thee Well Lisa, Kaz. "


    I turned and walked away with Lisa right on my heals as we headed back to City Hall.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


    It was now dusk and Saxophone Day was over. Originally there had been night events planed, but with the "Resident" out stocking they had been cancelled. I still needed to do a broadcast to inform the citizens about the ''Resident''.


    "Citizens,  It has been a long and enjoyable Saxophone Day. For those of you wandering why all the prizes were hidden around the town, that is because the local gremlin children decided that it would be a good prank. I have already spoken to their parents and they promised to explain how pranks should be conducted in the future.


    On another note we have received a letter from our neighboring town requesting help. It seems that the Zombies, that escaped the wall while it was being built, have gone and turned most of the countries residents into Zombies. The remaining people are in a panic.


    Lastly yesterday 10 people volunteered to act as bait, and successfully lure the Zombie into the Crypt. Unfortunately one of the volunteers got trapped behind the Crypt door and was eaten by the Zombies. Lets pause and have a moment of silence for John. He was a brave soul and we all hope that he did not get turned into a Zombie.


    In other news, the crypt ¡°Resident¡± has sent a message to the town hall. It reads:


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Dear puny humans. How dare you disrupt my peaceful slumber. None shall be safe from my wrath.¡°


    ¡±P.S. I know it was you. John told me.¡°


    On that note. Please lock your doors and windows at night, make sure to put Rowan wood at any openings to the house, and don¡¯t go out at night. I am not sure how long the "Resident¡± will be angry, but if it was anything like last time, it¡¯s going to be a long winter.


    Your Local Leader


    Kaz"


    A crow tapped on the window of my office just as I finished the news. I stood up and headed outside. Lisa was there with the crow on her shoulder.


    "The three silkies have returned with news of the world and survivors." she informed me in a monotone voice.


    "Thank you. Would you like to come with me?"


    "No, I still have work to do. So I would like to stay here."


    "As you wish." I turned and walked to the western wall leaving Lisa and the crow behind.


    Reaching the wall I saw at least ten adults and around twenty kids looking around in amazement. I frowned.  [ There are far fewer here then I expected. ]


    One of the Silkies walked up to me. "We have gathered all the survivors we could find as you have requested. We would like to report to Ceannard."


    [ Ceannard? Oh its Gaelic... ] "Ok. Go report to Jasmine." The three silkies walked off.


    [ Ok....]  "Everyone," the residents of Redroad turned to look at me. "Welcome to Shadow Wood. I am sorry to hear about your homes. However we of Shadow Wood hope to provide sanctuary. If you would all follow me I will show you where you will stay."


    A frightened little girl raised her hand. "Ummm... Mister what''s your name? "


    I smiled "My name is Kaz. I''m Mayor of this town." The little girl nodded.  "If there are no more questions please follow me."


    Leading the group into the community center we made it just before the sun completely set. I didn''t think the "Resident" would attack them with me there, but it was better to still make it before dark.


    The group paused once inside. I turned to see why. The Community Center is a bit different from others. The walls had murals depicting different mythological creatures while the the floor was done in black glass found at volcanoes.


    Some might say that this was excessive, but the Community center was( jest as the name implied) the center of the community.


    "Cough... If you''ll follow me please. " The group refocused and followed me down stairs.


    The down stairs of the Community Center had been transferred into living quarters. This had been done quite awhile ago when some houses had burned down, and places were needed to sleep.


    Now there was a common room. That had a couch, chairs, table, and TV. There were at least twelve bedrooms with a twin bed, chair, and a cot under the bed if needed.  There was two rooms with bunks in them. They contained six beds each. Lastly there was a bathroom with five stalls of toilets, five stalls of showers, five sinks, and a hair dryer.


    "Please use this area for now. I will try and have places for you to stay at tomorrow,  but right now only this is available."


    The group stood staring wide eyed at the area. The little kids were the first to regain their thoughts. They ran off opening all the doors.


    "This is amazing..." stated one of the adults. "It''s finally safe..." whispered another.


    "...Please do not leave the building. I will be here tomorrow morning to go over some information you will need. Good night."


    I walked up the stairs leaving the group behind.


    "Mister Kaz..." called out a quite voice.  I turned to see the same little girl who had asked a question earlier.


    "What can I do for you?"


    "Ummmm... if it''s not to much to ask can I stay with you?" the little girl looked at me with hopeful eyes.


    "....Why do you want to stay with me. Are your parents down stairs? They''ll be worried if you don''t go back."


    She looked down with tears in her eyes. "My parents are dead....." Tears streamed down her face.


    [ sigh  Making children cry now, are we.  ] "....You can stay with me tonight." The child smiled. "What''s your name?"


    "My name is Clara."


    "Ok Clara come with me." Clara followed behind as we walked back to my house.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Terrry - Necromancer


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt/Friend of Kaz


    Lisa - Kaz''s secretary


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from Redroad

 Species Discrimination

    Species Discrimination


    I was roaming around the forest looking for some food. The night cold and quite was perfect for hunting. I was hungry. It had been some time since I had last eaten. Following down a well-traveled deer trail I spotted a  fawn laying a little ways from the rest of the herd. Not quite an outcast but definitely not welcome in the herd. This is the perfect meal. As I readied myself for the catch, I heard a noise. It was right behind me and loud enough to disturb the sleeping deer.


    The deer saw me and ran, a perfect meal gone in a flash. Turning around I saw a little girl standing there smiling. She had dark curly hair and a long wool dress on. She looked at me and said hello. Then I saw nothing, it was all black.


    I awoke not long after that to find myself chained to a wall in a small round room. Hearing a scuffing noise I looked up. The same little girl was standing before me again.


    ¡°They call this the Pitts. They said that you''re a monster, but you don¡¯t look no different from us.¡± She looked at me curiously than started to take a step forward, but a hand shot out and caught her.


    ¡°Marry! I told ya not to go near it!¡± The yell came from behind the half open door. ¡°It¡¯s evil!¡±


    ¡°But father, why¡­¡± the little girl, Marry, started.


    ¡°No buts! Go to your Mother. She''s worried sick about ya,¡± said Marry¡¯s father. The girl looked down at the floor and walked out of the room. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about layin a hand on my daughter,¡± he said gruffly as he walked into the room.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why they want to keep ya alive. In my opinion they should''ve killed ya while ya were out. Not smart keeping ya here chained up.¡± He gave me an assessing look and then with a disgust face said, ¡°Monster, pretendin to be human. No one will believe that ya are. Your tricks don¡¯t work on me.¡± He paused, his eyes searching me. ¡°Tch!¡±


    Marry¡¯s father turned angrily and walked out slamming the door as he went. I heard the click as a key turned in the lock. Then listened to his foot steps slowly fade away. Once they were gone I pulled on the chains, but they refused to give. I scanned the room.


    It was small round room made completely of stone, it gave off no warmth. The chains were made of iron and cemented into the wall. I looked up only to see darkness. No ceiling but an opening at the top leaving me exposed to the elements. [ The Pitts, huh? What a fitting name for the room. ]


    I slouched against the wall, chains rattling as I moved. I had messed up. Stayed too long in one place. The humans got to know me and my habits.  As a result I had been caught. This mistake was made every hundred years or so but it was still irritating. The frustration will stay for quite some time only to slowly be forgotten until it happens again. However there was nothing to worry about. Even if they put chains on me that I can¡¯t break, I can just wait until someone comes to kill me. Then I can escape.


    I smiled to myself.  [ Escape? What a funny thing to think. It¡¯s not like they can hurt me anyway.  ] My stomach growled in protest to the hunger I was putting it through. [ I¡¯ll eat the little girl they used as bait. There''s nothing the villagers can say about that. If they use someone as bait there is no way their can be angry if she gets eaten like bait. ] I closed my eyes.


    All I needed to do was wait. Not long now some idiot will come to kill me and I will be free again. Nothing to do now but to wait... Beep.... Beep...Beep


    I shut off the alarm and held my head. That dream was from a long time ago. It was probably the child sleeping in the other room that caused it. I glanced at the clock, 6 am. In the kitchen I pulled down a cereal box and two bowls for breakfast. The child...Clara came in and looked around.


    "Good morning Clara..... Why don''t we have some breakfast?"


    "Good morning...." Clara sat at the table. I poured some cereal and milk into our bowls. "Thank you..."


    "Your welcome." Smiling I started eating the cereal. We sat and ate in silence. Clara sat across from me in the same cloths she wore yesterday. It reminded me to much of that time. [ I hate kids.... ]  "Well when we finish we need to head to the Community Center."


    Clara looked at me in panic. "Can I stay with you?"


    A little taken aback I said. "Well.... Why don''t you see what is going on for today and then decide. I have to go to the Community Center to tell everyone about the town and take them to their new homes. Why don''t you ask again tonight after hearing and seeing a bit more. Ok?"


    Clara looked a little dejected "Ok..." We finished up the rest of breakfast and headed for the Community Center. On the road there a deathly pale woman with a black parcel steeped in front of us.


    "Master Kaz, I hear that you have brought humans into town." Her eyes flashed dangerously, "I believe that this is a forbidden act. To bring such filth into Shadow Wood is absolutely ridicules. We of the Vampire Community call for a Council meeting to be held immediately." She glanced at Clara and sneered while walking away.


    [Sigh ]  I looked at Clara who was standing there stunned. "Does.. That mean that the people in Shadow Wood arn''t human?" She asked while watching the deathly pale woman walk away.


    "..... Why don''t you come with me." Clara and I begin walking again, only this time we headed for the City Hall. On the way Clara looked at all the buildings and people we past. It was still to early for a lot of people but some were up and going. Lisa was waiting for me at the entrance to City Hall.


    "Kaz the Council is waiting for you in the meeting room."


    "Thank you Lisa. Can you do me a favor and take little Clara here down to the Community Center. While your there would you mind telling the Redroad citizens about Shadow Wood. I should be over at the Community Center by.....8:30."


    "As you wish. Clara can you come with me?" Clara looked at me with a sad face and followed Lisa to the Community Center. [ Now Then.... ] I walked tot he conference room and opened the door. The room was very quite.


    Taking my seat I begin. "Why has the Council called for a meeting?"


    The Fae looked at a deathly pale woman. "Master Kaz, you must be aware why this meeting was called."


    "Not at all. Please  enlighten me." I smiled at her.


    The woman ferruled her eyebrows in agitation. "It is because you have brought Humans into our town." She said in quite anger.


    The goblin looked at me with questioning eyes. "Why is it that you brought Humans here? This town was supposed to be a safe haven. Bringing Humans here defeats that purpose."


    "Sigh....These Humans that you talk about are from Redroad." Several of the members tensed. "If you don''t know Redroad is the town next to us that has helped us many times. I had received a letter from the Mayor of Redroad asking for the evacuation and safety of his people. We are indebted to them and this is something we must do to pay them back."


    Everyone was silent a moment. "We do not owe that Human filth!" Shouted the deathly pale woman. "The are nothing but cattle! Food to be consumed! We of the Vampire race refuse to accept such disgusting savages into our town! Send them away! Let them die in their own home instead of dirtying mine!" The vampire''s eyes glowed red and a horrible pressure was building up making many of the Council flinch in response.


    I waited for the Vampire to stop speaking. "You and your race do not own this town." I said calmly. The Council members closest to me scooted away. "Your race may think that they are food, but several of the others do not. Just because you find it distasteful to live in the same town does not mean it won''t happen. Your words carry only the weight of your community and not any other. Unless there is a valid reason not to accept them then please sit down and shut up."


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The Vampire sat down with visible anger. "Now is there anyone else with concerns?"


    "...I wish to know if our secrets will be kept." said the Council member dressed completely in black.


    "Your races will be told to the Redroed citizens, but your identities and your race secrets will be kept. The only way they will find out is through you."


    "I see.... But where shall they stay?" asked the gargoyle.


    "They will stay over by the Power Plant. The Alchemist is the only other ''Human'' in town. All the areas and houses by here are free."


    "It is true that the houses by her are free, but that was for safety purposes. There is a high chance that something will explode over there." stated the Fae in concern.


    "It should be fine. If anything happens I will take care of it."


    ".... Then I guess we are done here." said the scruffy brown haired man.


    "No one else?" I asked. Everyone was quite. "Then meeting adjured." I turned and left the room. It was now 8am and I needed to make it to the Community Center by 8:15.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I walked into the down stairs area of the Community Center only to be greeted by the sound of a hushed panic. Apparently Lisa had just finished telling the residents of Redroad about our town. Silence fell upon the room when I entered. Everyone there turned to look at me.


    "Is it true that you brought us to a monster town?!" One of the adults cried. A couple of children flinched at the sound. Others coward near there parents while they comforted them. I spotted Clara sitting in one of the chairs at the table staring blankly at me.


    "Sigh... In a way yes. This town is inhabited by what you call monsters." Fear broke out on there faces and they huddled closer together. "Lisa, how far did you get?"


    "Ah.... I am sorry. Not much was explained. I only managed to tell them how this town was inhabited by creatures other than Human."


    "Did you at least get to say what creatures?" The crowd watched in silent horror as we had this conversation.


    "No, I only got to say one species and they panicked."


    "What Species?"


    "Vampire...."


    "I see... Well I guess it would be better to start from the beginning again. Shall we?" Lisa bowed her head slightly. The crowed looked at me a little strangle but they all stayed silent and watched. I opened my arms in a sweeping gesture.


    "Welcome to Shadow Wood. This will be your new town. However before we settle you in we need to go over some rules and explain this town a bit.... First I should inform you that the residents of this town are mostly not human. However they fear you more than you fear them." [ Most of them anyway... ]  "The residents of the town will not harm you. In fact most of them you wont even be able to tell are not human."


    Lisa sat down at one of the chairs with a cup of tea listening to my speech. "Now I''m sure you are concerned with what species of supernatural creatures can be found here. Well there are quite a few, but the most abundant are Fea, Vampires, Were - creatures, Shadow demons, and Gargoyles." A couple of people''s faces changed from ones of fear to terror as they understood what I was saying.


    "I will repeat that none of the creatures in town will harm you. There are other humans here in town so not all the people here are supernatural. For instance there is a Woman that runs the power plant. She is human. In fact the places where you will live in town will be over by her." The crowed shifted uneasily.


    "Does that mean that she is not human?" asked a woman pointing at Lisa who was sitting next to Clara. Clara glanced at Lisa in curiosity.


    "That is correct Lisa is not human." A murmur ran through the crowed. It was understandable. She looked just like any other person here. Clara looked at Lina with glowing eyes. I frowned slightly. [ Something is off about that child.... ]


    "Now before I know where you will be staying there are a couple of rules to go over. First, do not go out the night before or during the full moon. If you do not have a lunar calendar, you can get one from Lisa. Second, do not enter the graveyard. That is a forbidden area. If you go there you are on your own. No one will come to help you." I looked at all of them in turn making sure that they understood.


    "Lastly, the town has its own radio station. It is written on the bored over there." The adults turned to look a it. "That station is were all the town announcements and emergency warnings will come from. If for some reason you miss the announcements just ask your neighbor. They might know. Other wise your on your own. Now if you would all gather anything that is yours and meet back here in five minutes, Lisa will show you where you will be living in town."


    The people stood there for a moment, then slowly walked to the rooms to gather whatever they had managed to take with them. Lisa and Clara walked up to me. I glanced at Clara trying to figure out why she wasn''t scared.


    "That was a wonderful speech Kaz. There was no way I could have kept them quite that long." She smiled and continued to drink her tea.


    Clara looked like she was about to burst. "Lisa, what are you if your not human?" She asked with shiny eyes.


    "I am a Cat Sidhe." She said with a sad smile.


    "What''s that?"


    "It is... Umm... Basically I can transform into a large black cat."


    "That''s so cool! But Kaz didn''t mention you in the list of creatures." Clara said a bit confused.


    "Ah, that''s because I only mentioned the creatures that there were several of. Lisa is the only Cat Sidhe in town."


    "Is that so... So there are many different creatures here?"


    "Yes there are. For instance Kaz is.." I shot Lisa a sharp glare stopping her in her tracks.


    "Kaz isn''t human?" Clara asked with a slight tilt of the head.


    "No, No... Umm... Kaz is...."


    "No I am not human."


    "So what are you? Were you one of the creatures mentioned in your list?"


    "No I''m not. I am something...." [ What can I use to describe it? Damn you Lisa!  ]  "Something like a Green Spirit?"


    "Whats a green spirit?"


    "Pffft.... Ok, Clara lets talk about this latter." Suggested Lisa. "We have to show you were you''ll be staying from now on."


    "But I don''t want to. Can I stay with you Kaz? Please..." Clara looked at me with pleading eyes.


    [ Sigh... Why is she so attached to me? ] "I don''t think that''s such a bad idea Kaz." said Lisa.


    I looked between Clara and Lisa. ".....Fine. Clara can stay with me for as long as she likes. However you are not aloud to disobey me when I tell you to do something." I looked Clara strait in the eye. [ I am giving you so much work to do today Lisa!  ]


    "Ok! Thank you so much!" She smiled so brightly is hurt. [ Great..... ]


    I turned to look at the group of people who had regrouped. "Ok if you could all follow Lisa she will show you where you will be staying from now on." The group glanced nervously at Lisa but didn''t object. She led them out and everyone left. Everyone except Clara. [ Sigh... ]


    "Well Clara how about you come with me. I''ll give you a tour of the town, and at lunch time we can talk about you staying with me. How does that sound?"


    "Ok!" We walked up the stairs to go and have a tour of the town.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from Redroad


    Living with Kaz

 Chapter 9 - Dont Mess With The Mayor....

    Don''t Mess With The Mayor.....


    Clara and I had been walking the streets as I pointed out different things. Now we were on to the park in the middle of town. For a park in town it was gave the felling of a very dense forest. One that once you entered you could be lost forever. However if you looked at it on a map it only takes up fourteen acres of space. Still quite large but no where near the size of a dense forest. We walked down a rock path that travailed through the Park. About ten steps in Clara stopped and turned around in confusion.


    "We''ve only just entered the Park?"


    "Yes we did."


    She turned in a little circle then looked at me and smiled brightly. "We only just entered but you can''t even see the place we just entered!"


    "Ah, I see. This was made for the shifters in town. If you couldn''t get lost in it there''s no way this would have been enough for them." Clara smiled wider and continued down the path in a happy skip like fashion. "You''re not afraid of the forest?"


    "No, why would I be?"


    I frowned, most children would be afraid of the forest. In fact even most supernatural children were afraid of this forest. "It would be normal to be afraid of it. However you seem to be thrilled." I said watching Clara''s reaction.


    She froze. "Is that so? I see... children are afraid of the woods." She muttered more to herself than me. Clara turned to look at me with a bit of a sad look in her eyes. "I am not afraid of the forest because I was born in one." Her eyes grew a bit distant. "A forest that was dark and deep. So quite that you could hear the breath of the animals around you."


    "Really? I thought you were from Redroad."


    Clara bowed her head guiltily. "I... am not from Redroad. I was running from the Zombies when those three men helped me here." [ I give, even children know about Zombies. Maybe I''m just to old for this world. Sigh. ] "Before I knew it I was through that shiny blue swirling air and ended up here... Are you going to send me away?"


    "No, I''m not. You don''t need to be from Redroad to stay here." Clara looked up in surprise. "However I would like to know where it is you grew up and why you would like to stay with me instead of living with everyone else."


    "Are you sure you arn''t mad?"


    "Not at all. If you would like we can take a seat just there." Clara looked around in surprise finally spotting the bench just to the side of the path.


    "Was that there before?" She asked in confusion. I nodded my head as we took a seat. "This Park is more secretive than my woods... I was born to the west of here. In a forest that I guess was a national park? Anyway I lived there until the Zombies came and attacked my family. I... I''m..." She took a deep breath. "I''m a wood elf." Clara whispered.


    "So that''s why your not afraid of the forest."


    "Your not afraid of me?"


    "Clara look at this town." She showed a face of understanding. "Now if you would like there are some elves in the town. You can go and live with them."


    "No! I want to live with you." Her eyes showed a look of strong determination.


    "... Why are you so determined to live with me? I am sure that you would feel more comfortable with the other elves. Especially since your still a child."


    "I am not a child. I''m a hundred and twelve years old."


    [ Still a child. ] "I see, then all the more reason to live with the elves."


    Clara looked like she had just been hit. "Do you really not want me to live with you?"


    "Sigh... Why don''t you tell me why you want to live with me."


    "I''m not sure. You feel safe and comfortable. Like home." She sniffed the air. "You also smell like the forest so much so that I can''t even tell that you are here unless I can see you."


    [ Ah, that''s why. ] "Listen Clara it would not be safe staying with me. If anything it is very dangerous." Clara frowned. "I can understand why you would think that I was safe as you are a wood elf but you should stay with the other elves in..."


    "KAZ!!" Foot steps came running down the path. A crow landed in the tree next to the bench. I frowned at it.


    "Kaz! I need to talk to you!" Came the shout as a figure separated from the trees.


    "Sigh.. What is it Terry, and why do you have Lisa''s crow?"


    The crow looked at me and then took off back to it''s master. "Lisa lent him to me so that I could find you. Anyway Please come with me to the pond. We have a problem. You know the portal well it accidental summoned the Kraken! I mean I thought it was just a myth but the real Kraken showed up right here in town!"


    "Terry, please calm down. Lets head to the pond so I can see the situation." Terry nodded. Then saw Clara sitting next to me.


    "Is this one of the new people in town?" He asked with shinny eyes. "I''ve never meet a human before."


    "And you still haven''t. This is Clara. She is a wood elf."


    "Ah, is that why she is with you. That makes since. I mean any normal person would run from you. Hahaha." I shot Terry a glare, but it was to late Clara''s eyes shone with curiosity.


    "Does that mean that you aren''t human?"


    "Yep I''m a Bosh." Clara frowned a little at the unfamiliar word. "Ahh, a Bosh is a myth from China. They say that if you take my skin and wear it as a belt then I will resurrect you once." Terry winked "But I wouldn''t know since I''m still alive. Plus I think I''m far more useful alive. Hahahaha." Clara paled a little. "But it makes since that you would be with Kaz if you are a wood elf. Thinking of that this is the first time that I meet a wood elf. Nice to meet you I''m Terry the Necromancer."


    [ What an annoyingly long winded introduction. ] "Nice to meet you Terry. Why did you say that it made since that I was with Kaz?"


    "That''s because you are a wood elf and Kaz is.... Something like the embodiment of the wood''s spirit. Is that right Kaz?" I glared daggers at him. Terry paled greatly and backed up a couple of steps. "Anyway Kaz we need to go to the pond. The people are in a panic."


    Terry grabbed Clara''s hand and we headed off in the direction of the pond. Luckily it wasn''t that far as it was only at the other end of the park. We reached the pond only to see huge tentacles sticking up out of the pond trying to grab the people that stood just out reach. [ Sigh... Really now. ] I spotted Ali Baba and Baba Yoga arguing at he side of the pond somehow managing to not be hit by the tentacles.


    "Ali, Baba what is going on here?" Both witches froze. Ah I should probably explain Baba Yoga is Ali Baba''s twin sister. They are both witches and hold very similar powers. In fact they are so similar the the humans made up almost the same mythology for them. The only difference being the location at which they lived. Ali Baba was from Asia and Baba Yoga was from Europe. Now they both lived here.


    "Ah, Master Kaz. Well you see my sister here put up the portal wrong." said Baba Yoga.


    "It was not wrong. It worked exactly like Kaz asked until you decided to fix it!" Yelled Ali Baba.


    "Such a disrespectful way to call Master Kaz. Also it was not my fault that a Kraken came."


    "Really? Who was it that connected it to the Chaos dimension? Come tell me."


    "Only for a moment. How was I to know that it would come out. Especially since this is nowhere near the coast. At most I thought a Bmola would come out!"


    "Oh and how is that any better? Tell me."


    "Ok, ok. Ali and Yoga can you please calm down. And tell me what needs to be done to fix this. Also I would like the portal to go back to the way it was."


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Ali Baba and Baba Yoga looked away. "Master Kaz the portal is already back to the way it was." said Baba Yoga.


    "Ok so how do we get rid of the Kraken?"


    "Kaz it''s Krakens. Plural. There are three Krakens total in that pond." said Ali Baba.


    "... How did three Krakens fit in the pond?"


    "So this is really interesting. Apparently a Kraken has spacial magic. So when it came it brought its home with it. Only its home is in a separate closed off dimension that opens up into this pond." said Ali Baba.


    "In fact what really happened is when we opened the portal to the chaos dimension we brought the entrance to their home here. We didn''t acutely let the Kraken through." Said Baba Yoga.


    "So how do we fix it?" I asked yet again.


    "We can''t." They said together.


    "What? So this can''t be fixed?"


    "Not quite." said a quite voice from behind me. I turned to see a small child with silver hair and silver eyes. "If the Krakens wish to leave than we can send them back. But right now we can not because no one can get them to calm down enough to talk to them. That is why we called you here. However this would not be needed if this had never happened." He turned quite eyes to the sisters.


    "I am so sorry Akuji." Said Ali Baba. "If only I had stopped Bayo before she got to the portal."


    "No Akuji do not blame Alba she tried to stop me but I wouldn''t listen." Pleaded Baba Yoga.


    Akuji turned to me and bowed his head. "I am so sorry to request this of you but would you mind going to talk to the Kraken? Despite this being caused by my clan''s men I do not posses the power to stop this."


    "I understand." I turned to the Kraken that was currently wreaking havoc on the pond shore. "Sigh." I walked slowly and calmly towards the pond edge.


    "Kaz! What are you doing?" Cried Clara. She tried to rush forward but Terry stopped her.


    "Don''t worry Clara. Kaz will be fine. Just wait here and watch."


    I ignored the two idiots behind me and made it to the pond edge without the Kraken noticing. It more than likely can''t tell that I was there at all because I felt just like the forest behind me. Picking up a small rock, I threw it at where I guessed the head was. There was a thud and the Kraken froze.


    "Hey Kraken I need to talk to you. Could you please calm down." The Kraken slowly pulled it''s tentacles into the water and two eyes popped out of the pond. It looked like the eye stocks on a snail. "Listen. I''m sorry that you are currently trapped in the pond. But if you would like we can send you back. You just have to agree."


    The Kraken slowly emerged from the water until all of it''s upper body was out of the water. Its mouth opened to show many sharp teeth rowed like a sharks. "Idonotwishtogobacktothatemptyvoidofspace. IshallstayherewithmyfamilyuntilIgetbordofthisplace. Thereisnothingyoucandotostopmeortellmeotherwise."


    "Sigh... Akuji can you translate that. It was to fast for me to understand." Akuji nodded.


    "I do not wish to go back to that empty void of space. I shall stay here with my family until I get board of this place. There is nothing you can do to stop me."


    "I see." I turned back to the Kraken. "It is fine if you wish to stay here but you are not aloud to cause havoc like you have been doing."


    "Wahahaha. Doyouthinkthatyoucancomandme? Youaresorrlymastaken. Noonecancontrolme. IwillcausehavocifIwish. Youwillwatchasyourtownisturnedtoashandpeopleeatenbymeandmyfamily."


    This time Akuji just translated without me asking. "Wahahaha. Do you think that you can command me? You are sorely mistaken. No one can control me. I will cause havoc if I wish. You will watch as your town is turned to ash and people eaten by me and my family." [ It is seriously disturbing to see Akuji laugh with a strait face and in monotone.... ]


    My eyes darkened. "No it is you who does not understand who''s town this is." The wind died and the whole area became deathly silent. "If you wish to stay I have no problem with it. However if you wish to cause harm to the town you will have to go through me." The area around us darkened until it looked like the night sky with no stars. The tension rose in the air causing the Kraken to sink low into the water. "This town is one that you can not and will not harm without my permission. If you attempt to do so..." The water rippled slowly in an unnatural movement. It was flowing towards the Kraken making it so that it could not move. "you will have to go through me."


    "Iunderstand.Ishallnotcauseharmtothetown." This one I understood perfectly.


    "Good." the tension released and everything returned to normal. "If that is so than welcome to Shadow Wood. You may stay as long as you would like. If you ever wish to leave please tell Akuji over there. He will send you back. As for living space... If you do not mind the pond you can have it. This means that everything in the pond is yours to do with as you please. Also anything out of the pond is not something you may harm or attack."


    "Understood."


    "Good. Now if you would excuse me I need to go get this settled."


    "No Kaz, It is ok. I can handle the paperwork." Said Akuji politely.


    "Is that so. Then Clara, Terry," Clara and Terry both jumped at their names being called. "Why don''t we go get some lunch. I''m starving." Clara relaxed and smiled but Terry stiffened a bit. The three of us walked out of the park and towards a restaurant leaving the silent crowed behind.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of woods''


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan

 Chapter 10 - Friends are Noisy

    Friends are Noisy


    I sat in my office filling out the days paper work. It was night time now and I needed to have it all done by midnight. The door opened reviling a darkly clothed figure that walk/floated its way to in front of my desk. "Good evening Kaz."


    "Good evening ''Resident''. To what do I owe the pleasure?"


    "Oh, nothing in particular. Here for you." A shadowed hand held out an ice cream cone with Vanilla ice cream. "The present you asked for."


    "Hahaha. Are you serious? Thanks. I was just thinking that I needed something to eat." I took the ice cream.


    "I have heard some interesting things tonight about you."


    "Ho, and what did you hear?"


    "I heard that you have let humans into the town, for one thing. While that is the least interesting thing I''ve heard tonight lets start there." I could feel some disapproval from it.


    "Sigh.. Not you too. The humans are from Redroad. As they have helped us a great number of times it is only right that we help them too. Also we are the cause of this ''Zombie'' Apocalypse, as they call it."


    "I see that you still do not know what Zombies are. You can read about them in the library if you would like. I do believe that there are quite a few books on them in the fiction section."


    "You know about them as well?"


    "Of course. I believe that it is only you who does not know of them." I frowned a little causing the "Resident" to laugh. "Well don''t let it get to you. Anyway I can understand why you let them in now. Would you like any help convincing the rest of the citizens here about them?"


    "No that is alright. I''ve already taken care of it."


    "Oh... Is that so? How disappointing. Did the Council take it well?"


    "Not very well but that is to be expected."


    "Hmmm. Anyway lets move on to a more interesting subject." It felt like a smirk appeared on it''s face. "I also heard that you have a new person living with you. From what I understand it is a person from Redroad."


    "Well I can say that your information is both right and wrong. I do in fact have a new person living with me but they are not from Redroad. Also you should know better than to make fun of me." I glared at the "Resident", but that only made his smile bigger.


    "I am sorry. How about you tell me all about this new person that has latched itself to you."


    "Sigh, You really.... Never mind. Lets see. I think the first thing you should know is that she is a wood elf. So stay away from her. You might kill her with your presents."


    The "Resident''s" smile vanished. "Yes this is true, but she will not be safe with you. If anything you are more dangerous to her than me."


    "I know. I tried to convince her to stay with the other elves in town but she wouldn''t."


    "That is no surprise. The wood elves are not well liked by the other elves. If she did go to stay with them there is no grantee that she would be safe."


    "Is that so. I thought that all elves were on good terms. Why are the wood elves so disliked by the others?"


    "That is because they are accepted by the forest. While the others are just tolerated. The wood elves are very similar to tree spirits.... I see that is why she wished to stay with you. Maybe it is safer for her to be with you after all."


    I frowned. "No one is safe with me. You should know this better than anyone else. For her who is drawn to the smell and feel of the woods I am not the best person to be with. Especially since she is a child."


    "I can see where you are coming from but I do believe that it is the best place in town for her. Since she is still a child she needs to be away from the hatred of the other elves and needs a place that is safe for her to come back to. She is accepted by the forest so she should be ok in your house. It is not like you feel the urge to kill her, is it?"


    "No..." I frowned, "I do not. That is why I am confused and let her stay in the house. If I had I never would have let her stay."


    "Then there should be no problem. Now on to something else. I saw a Kraken in the pond by the park. Why is that?"


    "Ah, that is a new citizen in town. The Kraken family came here from the Chaos dimension and are here to stay until they get tired of it."


    "Is that so. How did they get here?"


    "Ali Baba and Baba Yoga had a little mishap with the portal and caused it. They haven''t caused to many problems. However I need to move the miniature boat races to the public pool. It seems that the Baby Kraken has taken to practicing on the model boats."


    Stolen novel; please report.


    "Hahahaha, is that so? Oh, it seems to like ice cream as well. It took my share when I bought it."


    "Really? And you just let it go?"


    "I thought it was cute."


    "I see, so you do have a week spot for cute things." I smiled.


    "....." the "Resident" shifted a little, "Yes. Right, I came here to tell you that I will no longer be terrorizing the town at night. As the full moon is tomorrow I thought it was a good time to stop. Also is there anyway that we can provide space for more people to live in town?"


    "I don''t see a problem with that. Are there any places in particular that you wish to place people?"


    "No, not yet. However I should know by tomorrow night."


    "I see. Than we can talk about that tomorrow. Oh, right before I forget. Akuji wishes to speak to you. He said that it is regarding what you two discussed earlier."


    "Is that so then I must go. Good night Kaz. I will see you tomorrow."


    "Good night,"


    The "Resident"  left the room quietly and closed the door. [That''s right the full moon. I almost forgot. ] I through the napkin from the ice cream into the trash. This was the last night before the full moon. I sighed. It was not like this didn''t happen every month. It was just so tiring to add it on to every thing else that needed to be done. Especially this week. Only four days had passed since the dead left the graveyard and already so much had happened.


    I looked at the clock on the wall. Only four minutes tell midnight. Finishing off the rest of the papers I decided to call it a night and head home.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of woods''


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos demention

 Chapter 11 - The Library

    The Library


    I walked along the harsh mountain trail for the fourth day in a row. As harsh as it was, it was still better than having no trail at all. The sun shown down giving the feeling of warmth, but the harsh wind quickly got rid of it. Not for the first time I wandered to my self why I chose to climb through the mountain range instead of go around.


    As I took the next step causing a rock to slid off the trail and fell down the side of the cliff collecting more rocks as it fell. I watched as the rocks turned into a mini rock slide. Then continued down the trail. [ Honestly who cut this trail? ] I sighed and thought back to six days ago.


    I had been wondering around the town when I over heard some humans talking about kids disappearing at night. They had been talking about some ridiculous curse on the town. Don¡¯t get me wrong I believe in curses but this one was just crazy. If I remember correctly the town was cursed by a witch do to the impoliteness of a child here. The witch said that all children who did not even know basic manners would be taken and eaten. Pfft, curse? More like a story to scare your kids into following the rules.


    However from the way that the humans were talking seemed to indicate that the children were in fact missing. So I listened more only to hear some more nonsense. I don¡¯t remember it all now, but it went something along the lines of a witch that goes around flying on a mortar?? and pestle??, has a house that runs and dances on chicken legs??, and something to do with this house lacking windows or doors. All complete nonsense of course. I had never heard of a witch this ridiculous, but the house they talked about was in the same direction that I was headed. So I decided to cross the mountains to see the witch.


    This was already the sixth day of travailing down a mountain trail. I looked at the next stretch of the trail with gloomy eyes. The trail changed from having a cliff on one side and a drop off on the other, to having a drop off on both sides. Once across this part of the trail I entered a cave. The cave was pitch black making it a little difficult to see. In fact impossible if you were human, but that wasn''t a problem as the path was quite clear ahead of me.


    I walked out of the cave into a beautiful clearing filled with trees, flowers, grass, and a small little house. I examined the house a bit more from a distance. It was made of some sort of wood? I am not sure because it shown black in the sun light. The house also had many windows, which were open to let in the air. It did not look any different than a normal human house. It even had a small white fence. Not really for keeping anything in our out just more for decoration.


    Following the stone path to the door, I knocked. ¡°Coming!¡±I heard the clattering of pots on the other side. Then the door opened. Standing in the door was a young woman with waist length blond hair held back in a messy braid. She was wearing a simple green dress that had a cloth belt used to make her waist look smaller.


    I smiled, ¡°Hello, I was wondering if I could stay here tonight. If its not too much trouble. I have been hiking for the past six days and would like to stay out of the weather for at least one night before continuing on.¡± The woman smiled and looked at me a little closer with sharp blue eyes.


    ¡±You¡­¡­are not human are you?¡± I froze. I was not expecting this question, but before I could respond she continued. ¡°But of course you may stay the night. If you help me cook dinner then you may even eat.¡±


    I tilted my head just a little, ¡°Thank you... May I ask how you knew that I was not human?¡± I really wondered. I do not think that I had done anything to give it away.


    She just looked at me with a puzzled look like I had asked a really stupid question. ¡°No human would calmly approach my house after seeing my fence.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡± I was genuinely confused.


    She laughed, ¡°Because it is made of human bones of course. When someone sees that normally they would run or pull out a weapon of some sort.¡±


    ¡±Oh¡­¡­Fences are not normally made of bones?¡± I had already seen  many bone fences in my travels and figured that it was a normal occurrence.


    ¡±No, they are not.¡±


    ¡±I see. Well thank you for having me for the night.¡±


    ¡±No problem, I was starting to get bored from the lack of visitors. Come in. My name is Baba Yoga, but you can call me Baba. What is yours, and what brought you all the way out here?¡±


    ¡±You can call me Mor. As for why I am all the way out here¡­I was told to travel and explore the world. So I am doing that. I just happen to be here right now.¡±


    Baba paused and studied me. ¡°Well Mor, if you are in no hurry to leave you can stay here a few days. There will be an interesting show if you do.¡±


    "Is that so? What o... Crash! I shot up in bed looking around for the noise. [ It came from the kitchen... ] Peeking through the door I saw Clara on the floor cleaning up some glass that had broken on the ground.


    "Clara? What are you doing?"


    She looked up at the door with a start. "I... umm..." Clara looked back down at the glass she held in her hand. "I wanted to make breakfast for us but..."


    [ Sigh... ] "Is that so?" I bent down and picked up all the glass pieces. "I''ll get the bowls down and you get the cereal. It is over in the pantry by the fridge." Clara smiled brightly and ran to the pantry to get the cereal.


    We sat and ate our breakfast in silence. "Are you going to work today?" Clara was looking at her cereal so I couldn''t see her expression.


    "Yes, I have work every day and today is very important so I can''t skip." Clara looked sad but didn''t say anything. "Why don''t you and Terry hang out together today? I''m sure that would be better than staying here the whole time."


    She looked up in surprise. "Really? Doesn''t Terry have work?"


    "No he doesn''t. I''ll call him over ok?"


    Clara smiled and nodded her head. We finished our meal and Clara went to get ready. I called Terry and asked him to take care of her for the day. It was better she stay with him and learn about the town more than just stay here, or wonder around by herself.


    Terry and Clara left  the house soon after. I went back to my room and looked out the window. [ Mor huh. It''s been along time since I used that name. ] Stretching I got up and took a shower. Thanks to the water fae we still had running water in town. However the situation outside of the town was very dire.


    Yesterday I had received a report from the silkies that went out on the rescue mission. It had stated that the outside word was over run with ''Zombies''. It was very hard to find any living human in the town and the few that they had found had been very spread out. None of them knew that the others were alive and did not have the confidence that they would live through this.


    No one had found a way to destroy the ''Zombies'' yet. So far the attempts that had been made had only slowed them down. Any limbs that were sever would turn to dust. Then in the place of the last one a new limb would grow. We did have some progress. The more extensive the injury the longer it took for it to regenerate.


    However even though it regenerated what ever state the body was in originally that was the state it would stay in. To make matters worse even supernatural creatures could be affected by the ''Zombie''s'' bite. Most of the creatures managed to escape from the ''Zombies''. But how long would that last. My fear is that when a supernatural creature is turned into one it would still retain its powers.


    I sighed and shut off the water. [ Why did that idiot have to make such complicated creatures. ] This was the first time I had ever seen something like this. The closest I had come was a witch that used blow fish poison to pretend that she could bring the dead back to life. They would come crawling out of the graves with a high fever making them delirious. The people would be hungry and in their delirium would make them attack people thinking they were food. [ I''ll have Lisa find someone to investigate what the government is doing during all of this. ]


    I frowned as I walked out side to head to the City Hall. [ ''Zombies'' was it. Looks like I''ll have to go to the library in my free time and do some research. ] The streets were crowded even though it was 7am. This was a normal thing since it was the last day before the full moon came out. That meant that everyone who was not a shifter had to get all their food for the next four days.


    It wasn''t safe to go out after today. I noticed a couple of people from Redroad in the crowed being shown what to do during this time of the month. Finally making it to the City Hall I headed to the office to get started on the preparation that needed to be done for the next four days and the morning announcement:


    "Good morning Shadow Wood. I have some good news. The local ''Resident'' has come to an agreement with me last night. He will no longer harm us over the incident with the ''Zombies''. However please follow all of the original rules when you go out at night as we are now headed into the time of the Full Moon.


    Now because of the agreement with the ''Resident'' we will have an increase in supernatural beings in our town. Since the Zombies are everywhere even the supernatural beings are having trouble. The ''Resident'' decided that he would forget the incident if we allowed them shelter in the town. If anyone is concerned for your safety over this go see the Akuji Head of the local Coven. She will help you.


    On another note the a Kraken, came through the portal yesterday and refuses to leave. It has taken over the park pond and the baby pretends that it is in the ocean attacking ships. Those of you who enjoy model boat racing I am sorry, please try to use a different location otherwise you will lose your boats. Also anyone that walks by the pond with ice cream will have it stolen. The baby Kraken tried some yesterday and can¡¯t get enough of it.


    Lastly since the wall was built there have been complaints of claustrophobia. I know that some of you are bothered that you can no longer get the fresh air that you need. In response The Council says this:


    ¡±All who dwell in the night and wish for the cool, quite air of the forest. Meet with us at the western edge of the wall. We will show you the way."


    Please go the the western wall before you decide that it would be better to kill all those in your territory. We will all know that you are just feeling confined but you will trigger a turf war. Have a good day.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Your Local Leader,


    Kaz"


    Lisa walked into the office with a stack of papers to be gone through. She had her long black hair pulled back in a loose braid. As she sat down the stack of papers I handed her an envelop.


    "Please deliver this to the ''Resident''. It can be delivered however you would like. Also can you get someone from the ''Hidden City'' to investigate how the ''Zombie'' situation is being handled outside of town." Lisa took it.


    "Understood....."


    "Is there something you would like to say?"


    " ...Kaz don''t you think it would be a good idea to put Clara in school." My hand froze in the process of filling out one of the papers.


    "Do you think so?"


    "Yes. That way she can meet people around her age and learn about the world and what''s in it. Also she will be gone during the day while your working." Her dark brown eyes watched me as she said this.


    "Then she will start school. As you said it would be a good idea. What grade should she be in?"


    "Based on her current knowledge maybe... 9th. Right at the start of high school."


    I nodded my head in agreement. "Then please bring me the paperwork for that as well. Also see if you can come up with a more suitable place for Clara to live."


    I turned back to the paperwork as Lisa left. There was more than usual today due to the full moon. Every shifter in town was taking the next four days off. There were a few exceptions like Lisa who did not need to shift at the full moon, but that was because she could shift whenever she liked. However most shifters were attached to the moon in a strange way. It didn''t make since to me because the moon is always full. The light just changes the way it looks month round. However I wasn''t a shifter so there was no way I would understand.


    It became more dangerous around this time because the shifters let their beasts be more in control. They said it had something to do with the moon being closer making the beasts more active. With this excuse they take the next four days off. I finished off the stack of papers and got up from my desk.


    I passed by Lisa as I headed out of the office. "If you need me I will be in the Library." She nodded than looked back down at her work.


    The Library was only one block away from the City Hall. I walked to the information desk to ask Badru where to look for books on ''Zombies''. The desk was hidden down a long dusty corridor made of books. Badru looked up from his book when he heard me.


    "I was wondering when you would come by again Kaz." He said while repositioning his steal framed glasses. "What can I do for you today?"


    "Hi Badru, can you tell me where books on ''Zombies'' are located?" His coppery eyes flashed with interests.


    "Would this have anything to do with a recant event or just a personal interest?" A phantom smile played at his lips.


    "Resent events. I am trying to figure out a way to deal with the ''Zombie'' out brake that was caused by the Necromancer." Badru''s spotted fur ruffled a little when he heard the word Necromancer.


    "I see.... So it wasn''t a natural cause... or would it be considered one? Anyway if that is the case you may not want to look up Zombies but on magic of the undead."


    "Is that so? I thought since everyone seemed to know these ''Zombies'' that that was what it was."


    "No.... The Necromancer was the one who created them so it would have more to do with magic than science. Zombies are a scientifically created creature. As soon as magic is mixed in it becomes something else entirely." A book came floating past me to the desk. "This here is a book on raising the dead. I do not think that it will help get rid of them, but it might help you find some ways to get around them. From what I hear the Dead do not stay down. Then you might want something on immortality as well. Unfortunately I only have one book that might be on it and it is written in a language that I have never seen or heard."


    A second book came floating past me to land on the desk. It flipped open to a random page to show it''s contents. The book was written in a weird yet completely natural looking wording. The letters? looked like they had grown into the book as appose to printed on the paper.


    "See what I mean." Badru''s tail flicked in annoyance just from looking at it. "I haven''t been able to translate it or find anyone who could. The only reason that I think it is about immortality is because it is written and printed in such a way. I don''t even know how this book got here in the first place."


    "Ahh... Ummm... Badru. That book is not about immortality."


    Badru froze and looked at me sharply. "How do you know such a thing? Can you read it? Tell me!" He leaped over the desk knocking me to the floor and placed two paws on my shoulders. "Tell me what it says! I must know!"


    "Badru." I said calmly. "Could you please get off of me?" As I smiled Badru calmed down and got off.


    "I''m so sorry. I let my emotions get away from me."


    "No problem." I straitened my cloths back to the way they were. "As for the book, I wrote it."


    "What?"


    "I wrote it." He just looked at me confused so I continued. "This is a book of some of the ''adventures'' I had over the years. I think I wrote this........ was it the Romans?....... Anyway sometime around the Roman empire."


    "Kaz... Can you tell me how to translate this?"


    "I don''t see why not. However I''m not sure you would understand. That book was also just more of a diary about every day things."


    Badru''s eyes got wider. "Please teach me how to read this. I will do anything."


    "....." I glanced down at the book on the table thinking back to the time I wrote this. "This is written in the language of the earth. I guess another way to put it is the language of nature. I don''t know how much you will understand as you are not really a being of nature, but one created forcibly with sand and dust."


    Badru frowned then looked at the book. "Is that so.... I understood that there would be somethings I could not do, but to not be able to read a book... Really this goes against my nature. A Sphinx yearns for knowledge and to have some that is unattainable is just tortures."


    "I understand. It would be best to ask a nature spirit to come and help you translate it. For now... If you hand me a piece of paper I will write down the general lettering of this language. In the mean time can you locate some books on rising the dead and on ''Zombies''. I feel that I should at least know what these ''Zombies'' are."


    Badru handed me a piece of paper and a pen and then walked off deeper into the library. His tail was strait up giving away just how happy he was. [ Sigh... ] I sat at his desk and started on the general rules of the language. The words that I wrote in it would blend with the paper making it look like it was a natural part of the paper. While the letters and words in English looked like they floated hideously on top. Scaring the paper as time went on.


    Badru came back just as I finished the paper. He handed me a key while looking at the writing. "The key goes to a room in the back. It will be private and has all the books that you have requested. Even the one that I brought to the desk here."


    "Thank you. As asked I have the basic rules for the language. However it would be best if you got the help of a nature spirit as well."


    Badru nodded but was already deeply engrossed in the information. I sighed and headed for the back room. The room was small and created a cozy feeling when you were in it. I sat at the desk that had ten books staked on it. Most of them were in random languages but some were in English. I decided to start on the books in English and got to work.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos demention


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)

 Chapter 12 - Knowledge is Power

    Knowledge is Power


    A light knock came from the door dragging me from the book that I was reading. "Come in."


    Lisa came in but froze as soon as she saw me. "Kaz.... What are you reading?" I looked down at the stack of books and then the one in my hand. They were all about Zombies. I had read the one Badru gave me earlier and found it fascinating so I asked for some more. There were now piles of books all around the room. The one I was currently reading was Abraham Lincoln zombie slayer a knock off version of Abraham Lincoln vampire hunter.


    "....I just thought I should read up on this whole Zombie thing that everyone seems to know about."


    "..." Lisa glanced around the room again then shook her head. "It has been several hours since you came here. It is know time to announce about the full moon tonight. Also Terry, Van, and Akuji would like to talk to you."


    "I see... Badru!" Badru appeared behind Lisa in the door way. "Badru I have to go take care of a few things and then hopefully I''ll be back later. While I''m gone can you take this stack away and bring in some alchemy books about transmutation. I have a feeling that that damned necromancy used some alchemy in his spell."


    "Of course." Badru floated the books out of the room and went to find the ones I asked for again.


    "Can''t you go ask Terry what he used and what spell?"


    I looked back at Lisa. "I have. He won''t give me the information. He says its some trade secret passed down through generations."


    "Then I doubt you will find the answer here. You will probably have to ask his master for the information."


    "Sigh.... Your probably right but I really don''t want to talk to him. Come I need to do the announcement." Lisa nodded and followed me back to the office. The sun was setting casting long shadows in the street.


    We walked to the entrance of the City Hall when Lisa stopped. "Terry, Van, and Akuji are all in the office already. I will be heading home. Also Clara seems to be back at your house already. Good night."


    "Good night Lisa." I walked up into my office to be greeted by oppressive silence. The three of them were sitting in chairs, that they brought up from the conference hall, at the edge of the room. Walking in I took a seat at my desk. [ What a depressing site. ] "What can I do for you?" I asked with a smile on my face.


    Akuji paused and then spoke up. "I can wait to discuss what I wish to tell after the evening announcements."


    "As can I". Said Van.


    " I just came to say that I dropped Clara off at your house." Whispered Terry. He got up to leave only to be grabbed ahold of by Akuji. Terry''s face showed discomfort but he sat back down anyway.


    "I see... Then please be quite while I do the announcements." I pulled the radio and speaker out and began.


    "Good evening Shadow Wood. As you all know it is that time of the month were we have to go home early and lock all our doors and windows. That''s right I''m talking about the full moon."


    As I continued a little machine in the speaker changed the way my voice sounded. Many of the people who lived here did not know what the mayor of their town looked or sounded like. It wasn''t that it was kept especially secret but my voice did not carry well on electronics so the voice changer was necessary. On the other hand I don''t do public appearances. This meant that when I go out a lot of people don''t know who I am.


    "Now that the full moon is tomorrow night I shall go over the normal procedure. Make sure to be home a good hour before the sun goes down. Do not let your children out at night. Gather all the guns and silver bullets in the house that you can and sleep with it within reach. If you are new and do not have any, stay at a neighbor house for the next four days. Do not follow or respond to any blood curtailing screams that you may hear. Lastly make sure that you are very quite this night, as to keep them from taking to much note of you.


    On that note the Darkness has a message for the citizens:


    ¡°For those who wish to join our ranks please come to the broken tree on the east side of town. There we shall initiate you into the group. Make sure to keep in mind that only half of you will survive.¡±


    "Darkness"


    That is all for the news. Make sure to have all your things prepared for tomorrow and be safe.


    Your Local Leader,


    Kaz"


    "...Now how can I help you?"


    "Kaz please tell the new residents in the town to not mess up my power plant." Van said in a huff.  I looked at her a bit startled.


    "The ones that came from Redroad?"


    "Yes!! Some of them came and saw Dirk doing work and freaked. " [ Ahhh.. So that''s what it is about. ] "It was fine when the kids just came but the parents couldn''t take it. This is why I left human society in the first place."


    "What did they do?"


    ".... Well nothing really but when the parents ran off, with the kids, screaming it depressed the Dirk. Now they are just sitting around doing nothing and I can''t do anything about it. I swear if I could just destroy them and create them again to solve the problem I would but I can''t do that."


    [ Wow, I''m surprised they weren''t depressed already. ] Terry and Akuji looked at Van in horror. OK so Akuji just gave a quite stare. "Well I''m sure they didn''t mean to depress the Dirk. Why don''t you go and explain to them what they were and tell them that they are harmless."


    "No." Stubbornness shown in her eyes. "I can''t do that. First of all they are not harmless they can easily kill. Second it is their fault that they are depressed now. I told them repeatedly that they were not to play with the kids. But Nooo~ they go and do it anyway."


    I pressed my hand against my forehead feeling a headache coming on. "Just tell the people that they are made of dirt and harmless." She opened her mouth to say something. "I know that they are not made of just dirt but tell the people this. Do not even think about mentioning what else it is made of. This will make it so that the kids can play with them again and they won''t be depressed."


    Van nodded her head reluctantly and left the room leaving Akuji and Terry sitting there in silence. The silence continued for a little while then Akuji finally spoke. "What is a ''Dirk''? Is it just one or more things?" The question threw me off.


    "... The Dirk are what''s running the power plant." Akuji nodded.


    "I understand."


    "... Alright now what can I do for you Akuji?" I smiled a little to help ease the tension in the room.


    "Master Kaz there is a problem in the Coven. As you know we act as home base for the witches and wizards in this country and their familiars. Recently the out brake of Zombies has caused untold damage on the residents outside of Shadow Wood."  [ Sigh... ] "As a result many of those in the society have faced some problems and wish to move here were it is safe. Others wish to have the problem solved, but do not wish to move."


    I nodded my understanding. [ In short fix it...  ] "I see no problem letting the ones who wish to move here do so. However you will be in charge of finding places for them to stay."


    "That will be no problem. They can move in with the coven."


    "Good. As for the second part... I have no solution to the current problem with the Zombies. They are beyond my understanding and are extremely difficult or impassible to destroy."


    "What about asking the ''Resident'' to explain what he did to get rid of the ones in town?"


    "... The ''Resident'' did not destroy the ones in town... It was more like... Wiping them from existence. We, or at least I, do not have that kind of power. You would have to ask the ''Resident'' to do that for you."


    "I see..." Akuji fell silent. The quite continued for some time making Terry shift uncountably in the chair. "Then we must ask the Necromancer to fix the problem." Terry froze and looked at Akuji in silent horror. "It is true that you created this problem correct."


    "....That is correct..."


    "Then you must fix it."


    Terry looked at me with pleading eyes. "Yes Necromancer, why do you not regal us with your tales about my cemetery." The soft and deep voice froze both Terry and Akuji.


    "Good evening ''Resident''. You''re early tonight." A shadowy figure stood at an opened window. A predatory smile appeared making Its teeth visible within the shadow of the hood.


    "Is that so?"


    "I am sure you heard Akuji''s request about the Zombies."


    "Indeed I did."


    Akuji sat stiffly in the chair as he listened to the conversation. "Do you happen to have a solution to the problem?"


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The ''Resident'' was silent for a moment. "No."


    "I see... Then do you have a suggestion on how to handle this problem?"


    "As we do not have any useful information there is nothing we can do. However the more information there is, the more we can do."


    "How wise..." Not even attempting to hide my smirk I turned my eyes back to Akuji. "There you have it Akuji. We are currently unable to fix this problem. However this might change in the future. If you stumble across any information please let me know."


    Akuji stood up quietly and left the room. Leaving Terry by himself. "Um... Is it OK if I go?"


    I glanced over at the clock that now read ten pm. "Sure. See you tomorrow." Terry hastily got up and left the room shutting the door behind him. "Now what can I do for you ''Resident''?"


    The ''Resident'' turned to look out the open window before speaking. "I have come to give you a list of the beings that wish to seek refuge in this town. However I do not see how you are going to accommodate all of them and their unique requirements." The paper that was handed to me held names of creatures I had never even heard of.  This made it even more difficult to place them in town.


    "Are they coming all at once?"


    "No. They have to travel here from different locations so their arrival will be scattered."


    "I see..." Setting the list down I pulled out a map of the town. "Any news on the outside world?" [ I think the forest can accommodate two of them. ]


    "Probably nothing you haven''t heard." [ Will the gremlins and bogarts fight each other?  ] "The Zombies have made it over seas at this point. It is now considered a world wide problem. Apparently it happened because of a international flight. The countries that haven''t been effected have closed their borders, but I feel that only island countries will be able to avoid getting affected by the Zombies..." [ Hahaha, I can stick them with the vamps. Let them deal with that. ]


    "...At this point it would almost be better to try and create a warp dimension and leaving to avoid getting involved any further with this problem."


    "...." I looked up at the ''Resident'' stunned."... You wish to create a hole across dimensions?"


    The ''Resident'' pulled up a chair in front of the desk and sat down. "Well yes. I would like to expand the town so that it would be able to contains every living thing as far away from the Zombies as possible."


    "While I understand what you are saying, but it doesn''t really add up. Why would you want to do that? Especially since you are not affected by the Zombies."


    "... Thats not really true.... Its true that the Zombies can not harm me physically but they are taking a toll on me mentally."


    I frowned. "...What?"


    "..." The ''Resident'' shifted unhappily in Its chair. "I can''t take it anymore. Day and night I have to fairy the newly dead to the underworld. It was good before because the improved health care has caused a drop in the number of dead, but with the Zombie out brake the work load had doubled what it used to be in the olden days!"


    ".... I thought that the creatures changed into Zombies after they were bitten so why would your work load increase?"


    "It''s because when someone gets infected before it can take ahold a lot kill themselves or are killed by others! The Humans are having wars and murdering each other for the supplies that they need to survive! Just imagine 7.3 billion Humans killing each other! It is ridiculous!"


    "... I see. Was there 7.3 billion people on this planet?.... Anyway I can understand why you would want to do that but it would probably be easier to either eradicate the Zombies or create a cure. Do you have any news on the Zombies?"


    "...It looks like when a supernatural creature is bitten it does turn into a Zombie. However they do not retain their original powers. In fact you could say that the Zombies are a new supernatural creature that has the power to convert others."


    "... Is that so." A howl sounded in the night and drifted through the window. "It is good that they don''t keep their original powers but if it is as you say and they are a new species of supernatural creatures then we have a completely different problem. Who do you think would be best to send out to research the Zombies?"


    The ''Resident'' sat silently for a while. "For now why don''t we send some wolves out to hunt. I am sure that they will find out useful information. Also they are much stronger than most of the creatures here."


    "Not bad. I''ll contact the alpha and see if he is willing to lend out his wolves for a while."


    The ''Resident'' nodded its head then stood up. "I must go Kaz. If there is anything new please contact me." With that it walk/drifted out the window and into the night. I looked at the clock that now read 11pm. [ I guess its about time to head home. ]


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Crow familier


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos demention


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)

 Chapter 13: Wolves

    Wolves


    The night was quite as I walked through the streets. The moon illuminated the road but still left large shadows to hide if need be. The street lamps weren''t on to save power.  Anything out tonight didn''t need it to see anyway.


    I turned the corner that lead to my house only to be stopped by a large brown wolf. He sat in front of my door looking out with impatience. [ Sigh... what now? ]


    Walking again I looked to see if there was anyone else around, but of course there wasn''t.  The wolf finally noticed me and walked over. He flicked his tail and started headed off towards the woods. [ Follow me. Is it? ]


    We walked down the path slowly getting deeper in until we reached a clearing. Seven wolves sat or stood in the clearing with one man standing his amber eyes glowing in the night.


    "Good evening mayor Kaz." The man had shaggy brown hair and enough power and charisma eliminating from his body that it would put any dictator to shame. [Troublesome... ]


    "Good evening Seth. I''m surprised you are not leading a hunt right now. Is there a problem?"


    "There is a problem." He slitted his eyes. "The forest area is not wide enough for us to run. Let us leave the wall."


    After the kraken incident we put a seal on the portal so that it could only be used when one of the witches was present. "I don''t see how this forest is to small for you to run in. If you go ten steps you''ll never find your way out..."


    "Don''t give me this crap! You know my pack and I would never get lost in any forest." He growled in anger. "Call a witch brat over to open the portal so we can run to our satisfaction!" The Alpha''s power flowed out over me demanding that I submit to his command.


    [ Sigh... ] I smiled as nicely as I could but I new it looked a bit strained. "The witches have gone to bed by now and if you wished to use the portal you should have submitted a request earlier. Also it is now very dangerous to go out...."


    Seth snapped.  "My pack is none of your concern. We will be just fine outside of the wall."


    "Is that so?" I thought back to the ''Resident'' and our need for information.  "Then would you mind doing me a favor? "


    "..." Seth looked at me suspiciously.


    "Since you want to go out of the walls so badly go check out how things are going out there. I need information on the ''Zombies'' and what is left."


    Seth thought about what I said. " Why should we?"


    "Because you want to go through the gate. " I kept my smile in place and added.  "And just as you say. You and your wolves would never get lost. I trust your information gathering skills as well as your skills at keeping yourselves safe."


    Seth held his angry face but you could tell he was happy with the praise.  He stood a bit straighter and puffed his chest out.


    "I see. When you put it that way there''s no way to refuse. Call the witch and my pack will get started right away."


    [ This was going way better than I thought it would. ]  "Of course. Let us go to the portal then."


    We went back to the path following it down to the other side. Reaching the portal, Baba Yaga stepped out from the shadows.


    "Good evening master Kaz. I had a feeling that you would come tonight." Seth stood stunned for a moment.


    "You planned this didn''t you. You tricked me into this task!"


    I turned and looked at Seth. "No there was no plan or trick your pack are the only ones who can do this and not sustain injury. It is also vital that we gather information."


    Seth stood quietly for a moment. "... I will gather the information."


    I smiled.  [ Close... ]  Baba Yaga opened the portal and the wolves left. We stood watching the gate for a while. Listening to the wind and the whispers of the forest.


    "How long will they be gone?"


    I started at the question and frowned. "I don''t know."


    Baba Yaga watched me carefully before sighing. "I can never tell what your thinking."


    "Hahahaha... really?  I figured I was pretty easy to read. What about you. Why are you here?"


    "Oh my, I thought for sure you would know. I can always tell when you need me."


    "Really now? And what did I need you for? Besides the portal because that can be opened by anyone."


    "To go watch the child of course." I frowned. "I know that it is time for you to disappear for a couple of days. Did you not inform the ''Resident''? It will have to take over for that time."


    "Ah... so its that time again."


    "Do not play dumb with me Mor. I know very well that you need to leave civilization for at least two days."


    [ Che... ] "I don''t go by that name anymore Baba Yaga. Plus it is not a good time for me to go on vacation. I can hold out another couple of days."


    She looked at me sternly.  "Do not over estimate the time you can spend in civilization. The last time you did that you killed..."


    "Silence," I said sternly. "That was influenced by many different things. The ones that died we''re humans that tormented me."


    Baba Yaga looked at me sadly.  "It was not only them. You went mad for 50 years. You killed all that came near you. Not even I could come and help you. Please take my advice and leave for two to three days. I will watch the child and tell the ''Resident'' to take over for that time. Please. I do not wish to see you that way again."


    "Sigh... fine.  I will take a brake. If you do need me get Lisa to contact me."


    "Do you wish to use the portal or will you.."


    "No I''ll use the portal. Can you make it connect to Europe for me?"


    "Yes."


    I watched as Baba Yaga chanted the spell. The portal changed from a aqua blue to a moss green.


    "The portal is ready.  Be careful Mor."


    "I will Baba. See you in a couple of days."


    ---------------------------------------------------


    The portal took me to the edge of a town in northern Europe. I knew it was the north because of the snow on the ground in the middle of fall. [ Norway? ] I walked towards the town in the distance. Just because I needed to be out of civilization for a while doesn''t mean that I couldn''t spend  one day in a town looking at the situation.


    As I grew closer I noticed a couple of things. One there was no noise. Well there was noise like the wind and the scrape of trees against buildings. However there was no human noise. No cars, sirens, talking, crunching of snow, not even the sound of breathing. It was still, quite and dead.


    I walked down the road looking at the buildings. There were red blotches here and there, broken windows, smashed doors, debris was scattered all over the streets, and graffiti. Taking a closer look It said "..." They have come! It is the end! I frowned. The further I walked the more abandoned it looked. Cars crashed on the sidewalks and buildings, burned houses, broken cars and fire hydrants (all ice now instead of running water), etc... The strangest thing of all though was that there were no dead bodies.


    No matter where I looked or all the evidence that stated there should be there were no dead bodies. Not one. I continued to walk down the main road of the town until I reached the edge. The mountains in the distance proved that I wasn''t in Norway but northern Transylvania.  I frowned. [ Not to far from that castle it seems. ] The castle was carved into the side of a mountain overlooking the entire area. It looked like someone was still living there so in an attempt to find out what happened I headed towards it.


    The walk was cold and torturous. The sun indicated that it was around four o''clock when I reached the castle doors. The old but well kept doors were decorated in a middle ages style. I pulled the lion head knocker and as the knocker hit the door it opened. I frowned. Doors opening by themselves wasn''t new but it gave me a bad premonition. I glanced at the city down below again and then stepped into the castle, doors squeaking as they closed behind me.


    (Baba Yoga Prov)


    Baba Yoga watched as Kaz went through the portal then sighed in relief. [ For a second there I didn''t think he would agree to go. ] Closing the portal I walked down the forest path to the graveyard. Now that Kaz was on ''vacation'' I had to ask the ''Resident''  to take over. I also had to inform Lisa about the temporary replacement.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I smiled as I thought about the ''Resident''s'' reaction to the news. As I thought about it longer I realized that Kaz had not taken a brake since the town was formed. I frowned. [ It was good I made him leave but I can''t help but wonder if it will be ok. ] The forest was quite and felt empty. Once Kaz left the maze the forest created had vanished. It made it much easier to find your way. Sometimes this forest would be so disorienting that the path couldn''t even help you through it. Making it to the graveyard with no detours I walked to the crypt.


    "What brings you to my home Miss. Yoga?" The voice, low and soft, drifted in from behind. I shivered. [ I don''t see how you can stand it Kaz. ]


    I smiled and turned to look at the ''Resident''s'' shadowy figure. "There you are ''Resident''. I have come with a request. Kaz has left town for a while and needs you to take his place. I will inform Lisa tomorrow morning about it and I will be taking care of the elf child."


    I could sense displeasure from the ''Resident''. "Why has Kaz left?"


    "...."


    The ''Resident'' just stared. I once heard from Kaz that the ''Resident'' had eyes that turned black the more irritated it got. While I couldn''t see his eyes I could just imagine them slowly turning black as I kept my silence.


    "Why has Kaz left Shadow Wood Miss. Baba Yoga?"


    I sighed deeply in my heart, but held my smile on my face. " Have you ever heard of the story of the Mor wolf?"


    "I have. But what has that have to do with Kaz leaving?"


    "I see can you tell me the story that you know?"


    ".... The Mor wolf lived in a forest out side a small town in Europe. Hunters went into the forest to gather food. However none returned. After a day the family and friends worried and went to find their husbands and friends. However none returned. The people claimed the forest cursed and did not enter. Then one day a hunter from another town came asking about this wolf. The towns people explained what happened and the hunter nodded. He then went into the forest. While walking he found the wolf and had a fierce battle. In the end the hunter managed to cut off the wolf''s head."


    I nodded in agreement to the story. "Yes that is the story that I spread around. Do you like it." The ''Resident'' frowned. "You see the real story doesn''t really go like that."


    "Is this story the reason that Kaz left?"


    "Ah... Kind of. Anyways just listen. Kaz had been staying with me the past couple of days up in the mountains. At this time he was traveling around the world to see and experience new things.  This was also when Kaz went by the name Mor. Kaz decided that it was time to go. He left the mountain and headed to the nearest town. However the people knew that he had spent time with me and claimed that he was a familiar.


    The people captured Kaz and placed him in a cell underground. Some of the villagers tried to torture information out of him but got nothing. However they were convinced that he knew something. He spent two years confined in a small stone and metal box being tortured. Then one day he lost it. He killed everyone in the town. Not a single person lived. He then went to the forest at the edge of town. When people came into the forest he killed them. It didn''t matter if they did something to him or not. He would stalk and kill them without fail no matter the age, sex, or action taken.


    Hunters came from all over to take his head but none succeeded. Then one day he vanished. He left the forest and didn''t come back. That is the true story. After 50 years in this forest killing all who entered. He just got up and left."


    The ''Resident'' watched me carefully. "...I do not see how this has anything to do with Kaz leaving."


    "Just think about it Kaz is a natural spirit. He must leave town or developed areas for a while or he will go crazy and the tragedy will repeat."


    "However Kaz has already been in this town for 5 years without leaving Shadow Wood and there has been no deaths caused by him.... Yet."


    "Yes well we can''t help any deaths that are caused by others stupidity. Anyway it has been OK until now do to many different factors. However he has reached his limit. So I sent him on vacation. Can you please take over for now?"


    "...I understand. However I have one question about your story. Why didn''t you help him when he was trapped by the villagers?"


    "... I tried... I did not know that they had captured him until a year and a half later. I then searched for him. When I found him he had already spent two years in confinement...." I lowered my head as I remembered the way he looked chained to the wall. The metal ripping into the skin causing blood to flow slowly from his wrists and ankles. Scars and open wounds covered his body. "It was a gruesome and terrifying site."


    "I see. I will take your word for it." The ''Resident'' turned and walked\floated towards the grave yard gates.


    "Where are you going?"


    "I assume that there are documents that have not been finished yet. It is best for me to do it while the moon is still up. Please tell Lisa about this. She will be more willing to hear it from you then me."


    "Of course. Thank you." I watched the ''Resident'' leave the graveyard then looked up at the moon. [ I wonder what Master Kaz is doing? ]


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past name Mor


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Crow familier


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies

 Chapter 14: Old Friends and New Places

    Old Friends and New Places


    The door shut quietly behind me cutting off any hope of escape and deepening my dread. As soon as I walked in a saw a clash of style. The castle was a conflicting mess of medieval workmanship and hot pink frills. I sighed. This castle belonged to someone I did not want to meet. Terry''s master Juliana Ann Dracul. Just thinking about it dampened my spirits.


    I walked to the room at the end of the hallway. It was a waiting room decorated with an aqua blue couch, hot pink frill curtains  over the windows, medieval suits of armor painted different colors and a bright orange coffee table. [ So he has finally given up, huh. ] For a long time Juliana and her husband Constantine fought for the decorating rights of there home. In the end it looks like Juliana won.


    Foot steps could be herd running this way from. "Amke! You came!"


    A petite women came running at me at full speed. "Juliana it has been to long." She flung herself into a hug.


    "Amke, it has been too long. What have you been doing. You said you would come visit us every once in while. But its been seven years since I last saw you." She pushed me away and pouted.


    "Is that so? I have been busy building a town after all. How is the family?"


    "Oh their good for the most part." She brightened up immediately. "Why don''t we head to the kitchen and talk there?"


    "That would be wonderful."


    We walked through a maze of corridors and rooms. Finally arriving in the kitchen. It was nicely done with black granite countertops, stainless steal sink, and beautiful hard wood cabinets. There was a island with red chairs placed at it. I sat down as Juliana made some tea.


    "Jared is out right now hunting for a wife. As for Constantine he is downstairs sleeping. He should be up in about an hour or so." Juliana carried the tea over to the island and sat across from me.


    "Really I didn''t think that Jared would settle down any time soon. What changed his mind about it?"


    Juliana smirked, "Oh nothing much. He just meet a girl he liked and she is a bit difficult to get."


    "Ho, and who is that? For them to be able to resist Jared''s persistence they must be special."


    "Indeed, it is Viola Heart."


    ".... The princess of The Court?"


    "The very one."


    "Then he has his work cut out for him."


    "Absolutely."


    We drank our tea in silence for a little while. [ Really now he could''ve chosen someone else. ] Viola Heart is the daughter of the King of Life. The King of Life and Constantine had been on bad terms with each other for a while now. It was literally a modern day Romeo and Juliet. [ Must be tough. ]


    "How is Constantine taking this?"


    "Just fine....  the general court affaires and personal disputes don''t affect my family.." A voice said from the kitchen door way.


    "Oh Darling your awake." Juliana ran over and latched herself onto the figure.


    "Its been awhile Amke. How are things?" The figure walked into the room wearing sweat pants and a T-shirt.


    "Constantine it has been to long."


    "Indeed."


    "So how is King Heart taking his daughter being chased by Jared?"


    "Oh, not well. Pffft..." Said Juliana, "He had a holy fit when Jared asked to date his daughter. I had never seen him go so red and blue in the face before. Hahahahahaha...."


    "... Jared fell for his Viola Heart at one of the Court balls. Ever since then he has been constantly chasing after her. To my great displeasure." Constantine sighed sadly.


    Juliana patted his shoulder as she continued. "Don''t mind him. Constantine is just upset because the Court is putting pressure on him. They say that an interspecies relationship is wrong and against nature. You understand how this would bring up problems in the Court of Life. Speaking of against nature do you know about the resent undead event?"


    [ All to well.... ]  "Yes"


    "Well the Court said that since Constantine were closer to what they are he has to find a way to stop them from spreading. And since our son is courting the King''s little Viola they said Constantine had to do this alone."


    "Wow, thats harsh."


    "Yep."


    "Anyway Amke, what has brought you to Transylvania?"


    "Ironically the undead matter. As you have already seen there are undead bodies that just won''t died. They were created in Shadow Wood by Terry."


    "What by little Terry?"


    "... Yes, he said that it was a trade secret how he did that and so I came to ask you. As his master I hoped that you would know."


    "Is that so..." Juliana went into deep thought. "I don''t think that necromancy can create them just by itself. There would have to be something else mixed into it..."


    "I think the alchemist in town helped out."


    "Alchemy?" She stood still in even deeper thought then before. We all watched Juliana. ".... I''m not sure what could be used to make undead creatures that can''t die, but there is a lot about alchemy I don''t know.... Have you talked to Nickolas Flemel yet?"


    "Sigh, no. I haven''t. Do you know where he is?"


    "Not really. Last I heard he was in Turkey looking at old Roman Ruins."


    "Why don''t you go ask him about it. He will help you or at least set you on the right path."


    "Sigh.... I don''t really wish to see that lunatic again."


    "That so? I always thought he was nice." Constantine and I just stared at her.


    "Honey... The last time you saw him you threatened his life...."


    "Did I?"


    "...."


    "Anyway It has been so long. Amke you said you have a town now. How is it?"


    I smiled and took a sip of tea. "Its a small town in North America filled to the rim with stray creatures."


    "Is that so. I know that Terry told me a little about it saying that some crazy ''dude'' was in charge."


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    "Cough.... Cough.... Did he really say that?"


    "Yes, what''s wrong?" Juliana tilted her head to the side in confusion.


    "I am the one running the town..."


    "Bwahahahahaha..... I see! That is some crazy ''dude'' running the town!"


    I frowned at Constantine that continued to laugh. "I''m glad you get a laugh out of this."


    "Heh.. Heh... Don''t be like that Amke. The description is just to accurate." Constantine was slowly catching his breath.


    "Tsk... I''m not that crazy." This only made him laugh harder while Juliana sat quietly drinking tea and nodding.


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    (''Resident'' Prov)


    I sat at Kaz''s desk doing a mountain of tedious and time consuming paperwork. There was just no end. The more I did the more papers would come. Not only that Kaz''s sadistic secretary would come in and stack piles of them, and then sweep her eyes around the room and sigh as if scorning my lack progress. [ The first chance I get I will throw you into a body of water and watch you squirm and screech your way out."


    The thought sent shivers of joy down my spine as I continued scanning paperwork. This particular document covered the maintenance and upkeep fees for the town. [ Why are we still paying fees when there is no governmental power left?"] The fees covered the repairs for shops roads and signs in Shadow Wood. However there was one that caught my eye. The fees for adding names to  Calle De Los Muertos. [Street of the Dead?? Since when did we have something like that? ]  The description said that it was for carving names of the deceased into the street. [ Why have I never seen this? ]


    "Lisa!" Lisa calmly walked into the office. "Where is Calle De Los Muertos?"


    She stood silent for a moment in thought. "The street is down by the Necromancer and the Undertaker''s Shop. It begins at the Undertaker and ends by the Necromancer. As it is supposed to represent the your options after death."


    "I see... I''m going out. Take care of this." With that I let the paper hell that was Kaz''s office and headed for Calle De Los Muertos. It was surprising to find out there were places I never knew existed especially ones related to death. [ Come to think of it I never meat the undertaker either... ]


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I will not be posting anything new for the next 6 days do to no internet. Also I''m sorry that the character list is getting a bit long but it will only increase from here. If you have another format you wish to see the characters in or more information you want on them, please let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading.


    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared

 Chapter 15: One Favor Leads to Never Ending Requests

    One Favor Leads to Never Ending Requests


    Constantine and  I stood on top of a grassy hill overlooking the plains. In the distance there was a small grouping of round tents where people on horse back were riding out to hunt for food and scout.


    We had been traveling around the area for several days without seeing anyone. Heading towards the camp in silence I recalled why we were traveling together in the first place. For the last five years we traveled together after I saved him from a secret organization in India. In order to get as far away as possible we travel north outside of their reach.


    [ It has been an annoyingly long time together... ] As we drew closer I sensed something weird from one of the tents. It was coming from the largest tent in the group and the most heavily decorated. ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey! Who are you?¡± I turned to look at a very tan dark hair man holding a bow coming towards us. Constantine¡¯s eyes flashed at the aggressive behavior of the man.


    ¡°...Hello, I was wondering if it would be possible to spend the night here. And if possible to know where here is.¡± I smiled as innocently as I could. The man looked at us with a bit of suspicion.


    ¡°¡­ Follow me.¡± He turned and led us to a large tent near the middle of the camp. The inside was a conferrable home. The floor was covered in fur making it soft on the feet and help keep it warm on this cold fall day. There was a fire in the center lighting up the area and silk hung around the tent adding color.


    An older lady came up from the other side of the tent to great us. ¡°Welcome visitors. You have traveled far to make it all the way here. Where do you hail from?¡±


    ¡°To the south in a very warm region.¡± I lied through my teeth. Constantine just smiled and said nothing.


    The older lady just stood silently for a moment looking at Constantine¡¯s eyes. ¡°¡­ I see¡­ Shakuni you may leave.¡±


    Shakuni bowed his head and left. When the flap closed the old lady turned back to us. ¡°Are those red eyes natural?" She was staring intently at Constantine.


    "... Yes."


    "Please follow me.¡± She led us out the back and headed to the largest tent at the edge of camp. This one was very different from the others. The floor was covered in fur like the other one but this one was from a bear. The walls were covered in silk and gold ornaments. A screen cut the room in half allowing for privacy. The screen depicted Shangri-La with the immortal fruit.


    ¡°Ania I have some people for you to meet.¡± She turned around  ¡°I did not think that I would see another. Please talk to Ania she needs to meet people like you.¡± With that she left.


    A short woman came out from the other side of the screen. She had bright red/yellow eyes and wild red hair. She was dressed in a beautiful red and yellow flowing dress. ¡°¡­Why Hello¡­ I¡¯m Ania.¡± She smiled.


    Constantine spoke first. "Hello... I''m Constantine and this is Amke...."


    Ania''s eyes light up, "Are two also Dragons??"


    "What?"....


    I awoke to the light sound of snow hitting the window. Constantine, Juliana, and I stayed up late talking about what to do about the Zombie out brake, but in the end we could only go so far. No one held enough information to come up with a suitable plan. I needed to go find Nicolas Flamel. This meant traveling all the way to Turkey and hoping that he was still there.


    [ Sigh¡­ I had hoped so much that I wouldn¡¯t have to see him¡­ ] I got out of bed and got ready for the day. Constantine had said that he would send Jared with me. He wanted his son to meet that lunatic and that it would give him a bit of worldly experience. [ Pfft¡­ He just wants a brake from King Heart¡¯s wrath ]


    Finishing up I headed down to gather Jared for the journey.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    (Lisa Pov)


    It had been two days since Kaz left Shadow Wood for his ¡®vacation¡¯. Nothing much has changed in that time. If anything it would be that my work load has increased. The ¡®Resident¡¯ that was meant to take over for Kaz is completely useless. It just sits there and does paperwork all night. It doesn¡¯t do inspections or check for any problems in town that were not reported.


    It vexes me to no end. This means that the inspections and problem solving was left to me. Not to mention that last night It left to see Calle De Los Muertos leaving all the paperwork to me. [ Ridiculous slacker! ]  My eyes squinted in annoyance.


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    I signed my way through stacks of papers that were left over from yesterday. The front door banged open as Badru came sprinting in. ¡°Lisa! Where is Kaz?! I need to speak to him!¡±


    Deliberately setting down my pen , I gave my full attention to the frantic sphinx. ¡°Kaz is out right now.¡± Bardru stood there dumbfounded.


    ¡°He¡¯s out?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I do not know when Kaz will be back, but I can take a message.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± He just stood there as if lost.


    [ Irritating! ] I looked back at my work. There was no way I would finish all of this if I kept being interrupted.


    ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡±


    My eye twitched but I plastered on a smile. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Do you know where I can find some nature spirits?! I don¡¯t think the species really matters as long as they can read in the language of nature.¡± Bardru was beside himself in anticipation.


    ¡°If you go into the Park and ask a tree I¡¯m sure that one will be able to help you.¡±


    ¡°¡­What?¡± Badru tilted his head in confusion. I turned back to my work.


    ¡°Ask a tree." I continued writing as I spoke, "It will help you if it is about the language of nature. However you have to get on their good side. They can be very picky about who they talk to.¡±


    Badru just stood there staring at me in silence. I gave in to the stare after two minutes and glanced up. ¡°Is there something else?¡±


    ¡°... Would you be willing to take me down there and introduce me to the right tree?¡± He smiled with his ears forward and eyes looking up as if begging. [¡­Brat ]


    I cut my eyes, ¡°Of corse. Just give me a second.¡± Summoning my Crow, Eitilt, I asked him to deliver the new papers to the ¡®Resident¡¯ then to inform me if anything happens. ¡°Lets go.¡± Badru and I headed off to Kaz¡¯s forest.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared

 Chapter 16: Animal Love

    Animal Love


    Jared and I hiked our way across mountains and snowy terrain headed down towards Turkey. At first Jared was very upset that he had to leave Viola alone, but got over it quite quickly when I shoved him off a cliff. Thanks to his sturdiness he survived unharmed. [ To my disappoint. ]


    Today was our third day of hiking and my fifth day away from Shadow Wood. We sat at a fire in the middle of the woods. The snow wasn¡¯t as deep here so it was easier to find dryish wood. Jared was cooking food over the fire for us. [ I wonder how Shadow Wood is doing¡­ Sigh ]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    (Terry POV)


    I walked slowly down the hall to the meeting room. A meeting was called because of the many problems that have happened recently. The closer I got to the meeting the slower I walked. I really didn¡¯t want to be there however since Kaz was gone Lisa told me I had to come.


    I opened the door only to see the head honchos of the different creatures found in Shadow Wood. [ This is going to be so fun! ] I went and took a seat next to Lisa.


    ¡°Well lets get started. As you may know there have been a few problems recently that need to be addressed. Lets start with the ¡®Resident¡¯.¡± Lisa skimmed her eyes across the crowd finally stopping on the ¡®Resident¡¯. ¡°¡®Resident¡¯ why have you imprisoned the Gremlin children?¡±


    ¡°¡­ The children committed a completely unforgivable act. They stood just out of reach and teased the baby Kraken with ice cream. I could not believe that they would teas such a cute and innocent creature. For their actions I am administering punishment.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± [ Hahahahaha, Are you kidding me, right? The Kraken cute? ]


    ¡°To trap children just for this reason¡­¡± The Fae lady began.


    ¡°This is more than a suitable reason to trap the children. Besides teasing the Baby Kraken they also destroyed the ice cream stand. This is no laughing matter.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Shocked silence filled the room.


    ¡°Ahem¡­ Lets move on¡­ There is another problem that we have Seth brought back several animals while on his mission. He refuses to stop and keeps bring back more claiming that they were abandoned¡­¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t leave them there! They were abandoned by the Humans! It was just so sad¡­¡±


    Lisa glared at Seth and cut in. ¡°Seth we can¡¯t take in all these animals. There is no where to put them.¡±


    ¡°Someone will take them in. I¡¯m sure you Council members know of places.¡± Seth was determined to find homes for the animals he brought back. Speaking of it was hysterical to see him come back with fluff ball cats that he had ¡®saved¡¯ from danger. In fact most of the animals he saved were fluffy cats that would die within a day when on there own. I turned back to the conversation.


    ¡°What is wrong with you? Your an Alpha Werewolf! What possessed you to bring them back?¡± Correction I turned back to hear Lisa sternly questioning Seth¡¯s life choices.


    ¡°They weren¡¯t abandoned! I couldn¡¯t just leave them there! There¡¯s no way that they would survive.¡±


    ¡°Some of the animals are wild! Those would have survived!¡±


    ¡°What? None of the animals were wild! They were all pets!¡±


    ¡°You brought back raccoons! Those are wild animals!¡±


    ¡°¡­ That was a mistake¡­¡± [ Wow, he¡¯s bushing. Did he mistake the raccoons for something else? Did he mistake it for a cat? That must be humiliating! Bwahahaha. What kind of Werewolf does that?]


    ¡°Really? Tell me how did you mistake a raccoon?!¡±


    ¡°Children please, calm down we are in the middle of a meeting. There is no reason to fight like cats and dogs.¡± The deathly pale lady watched the two with distain.


    ¡°Cats and dogs?¡± Lisa growled.


    ¡°¡­But I¡¯m a Wolf¡­¡± Seth muttered under his breath. [ I never know meetings were so much fun! ]


    The deathly pale lady continued. ¡°We will take the grimalkin. To help with this situation.¡±


    Everyone turned to stare at the deathly pale woman. ¡°The what?¡±


    ¡°The grimalkin.¡±


    As the Council members looked at each other confused I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Bwahahahaha,¡± Everyone in the room turned to look at me. ¡°I think she means the Cats! Hahahahaha.¡±


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    ¡°I do not see why that is so funny Necromancer.¡±


    Seth gave a horrified look. ¡°No you can¡¯t have the cats. You will eat them!¡±


    The woman looked at seth as if he were a bug. ¡°We will noot EAT them, hound. The grimalkin have always been important to Vampires.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Then thats settled. The Vampires will take the cats. Seth you must find homes for the rest of the animals. Meeting adjured.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡± The Vampire was the first to get up. She stood in front of Seth. ¡°Show me to the grimalkin.¡± Seth paled a little but still took her off to where the animals were. [Pffft¡­ I have to see this. ]


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared

 Chapter 17: Alchemy is a Complicated Mess of Fiction

    Alchemy is a Complicated Mess of Fiction


    We had been traveling across the country for a while now and have finally made it to Istanbul. From the information that I managed to get from Constantine before we left Nicolas Flamel should be in the Yerebatan Cistern. Jared and I headed down to the cistern near the Blue Mosque. We walked down pitch black stairs towards flickering lights. I ran my fingers along the wall to keep track of deep we got.


    Our foot steps echoed through the granite chamber. As we reached the bottom I was greeted by the sight of boardwalks over water lit with floating colored flames. A figure was illuminated standing in the water over some engravings. I walked closer as Jared stood stunned by the sight.


    I stood behind the figure as he muttered to himself. ¡°Ahem.¡± The figure jumped.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± He turned quickly in the water distorting the view of the engravings. ¡°Ahh¡­ Amke? Is that you? I haven¡¯t seen you in so long.¡± A large smile broke out on his face. [ Sigh, why of all people did it have to be him? ]


    I frowned ¡°It is I, Alchemist.¡± He climbed up onto the boardwalk.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in ages. Look at you. You haven''t changed a bit. I¡¯m so glad.¡± Jared came walking up behind me in silence.


    ¡°If I had it my way I would never see you again.¡±


    ¡°Ah no reason to be so mean. I mean it is the first time we see each other in over 2,000 years. I missed you so much. All the mysteries that I was unable to research after you left. Sigh, I truly regretted not being able to contain you in the chamber of 9.¡± Nicholas Flamel¡¯s eyes trailed off into the distance.


    ¡°Yes the Chamber of the 9, what a horrible place. It was so boring and meaningless not only that I was stuck with you and your ridiculous experiments all day. Speaking of which why aren¡¯t you dead?¡±


    ¡°Aw well, that¡¯s a secret you know. Can¡¯t tell you anything about it. But maybe you can guess? Yes I think making it guessable isn¡¯t against the rules. Lets see¡­ Ohhh I know what are the principle research topics of alchemy?¡± His eyes shone with impatiens for my answer.


    [ Sigh, I hate you so much. ] ¡°The principle research topics are Transmutation, Al-iksir, and Magnum Opus.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Well this wonderful age resistant body came from research on the Al-iksir. Hahahahahaha I was the first in the Order to reach that point also the first alchemist to reach it. The others thought that research on the Magnum Opus would do it but that was just a hoax!¡± His joy only served to irritate me. ¡°Well enough of that who is this silent stocker you have with you?¡±


    Jared squinted his eyes at being called a stocker. ¡°¡­ He is Jared Von Dracul. Son of Juliana Van Dracul and Constantine Von Dracul.¡±


    ¡°Oh my! Your their son? I have so many questions! Ohhhh, lets start with what you are. Would you be a new species? Do you retain both of the powers of a Dragon and a Vampire? Do you have none? Or perhaps a completely new and different set of powers? Do you change shape or are stuck in this form. Does your coloring mean anything about what you can do? That would help me find out some answers as well. How do you feed? Do you ¡­.¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± I cut him off before it became impossible to stop him. ¡°We did not come here to help with whatever research your doing and we definitely did not come here to let you know more about supernatural creatures. We came to ask about the Zombies.¡±


    ¡°Boo, you ruin my fun. I just wanted to know more about Jared.¡± I glared at the Alchemist as he spoke. To which there was no reaction. ¡°Well if its about the Zombies ask away I¡¯ll see what I can do for you. It of corse is free of charge just for you Amke.¡± He smiled brightly as I shuddered.


    ¡°¡­Right, first I would like you to tell me what you know about the Zombies.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, Lets see. Most of the Zombies are immortal however some will die if you damage the brain. About 1 in 5 will not die, I think. Although it is hard to tell as there is no way to tell the difference between an immortal one and a normal one. I¡¯m actually quite interested in how the Zombies became immortal.¡± [ What? Not all of them are immortal? ] ¡°They are attracted to sound so it makes it relatively easy to dodge around them if your quite. Lastly I know if you destroy the body it will turn to ash and reform. Over all a very interesting creature.¡±


    ¡°¡­ What do you mean only 1 in 5 are immortal?¡±


    ¡°Ah well, there is about a 1 in 5 chance that the Zombie will not die. I don¡¯t know why but the stat is pretty realistic. I tried it out myself. When I threw calcium and water at them about four woulddiein the horde. The last one wouldjust keep burning a beautiful orange as itwalked. It was so fascinating. This also created flaming orange immortal Zombies. Its was so funny to watch them. Hahahahahaha¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Jared slowly backed up until there was quite a bit of distance between him and the Alchemist.


    ¡°Sigh, of course you would make them flaming Zombies. Do the flames go out over time?¡±


    ¡°I suppose. If they run out of calcium then the orange ones will, but it would still keep burning the Zombies themselves.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I have another question. Would the Magnum Opus be able to make Immortal Zombies?¡±


    Nicholas Flemmel frowned at me. ¡°Magnum Opus is just a myth. An old wives tail that we tell ignorant alchemists. It was set up by the Nine to keep the real Immortality potion out of their hands. As a result it became this big thing. Its ridiculous really. A stone as clear as glass, soluble in water, and resistant to flame. Preposterous! Those who believe that do not deserve real Immortality. Even the names for it helps to tell people that it is a trick and based only on fictional theory. Lapis philosophorum the ¡®Blue child of Philosophy¡¯ or the more common name Philosopher¡¯s stone which literally says it it a stone of theory. The name Magnum Opus just means ¡®Great work method of creation¡¯ it doesn''t even say that it is a stone. So no it is absolutely preposterous to say that the Zombies were created through the use of the Magnum Opus as it is a mere joke from the Nine to begin with.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I see. Then what sort of alchemy could have created immortality?¡±


    ¡°Why Al-iksir of course. Not only has it already been proven to work. There are several different ways and recipes to make one. However many of them lead to the death of the drinker. This is still its own type of immortality of corse its just that your immortally dead. Kehehehehe.¡±


    ¡°... Can the Al-iksir be used on the already dead?¡±


    ¡°I guess but it won¡¯t have any effect¡­. But if it was a functioning corpse it would just make them one forever but I¡¯m not sure how effective that could be. Plus you would have to bring one to life for this and making Homunculus was banned for obvious reasons. But the most effective one of the Al-iksirs would have to be the one from Chinese alchemists. Ah, their recipe was just brilliant. The only problem was that it killed almost everyone who drank it. If I remember correctly it was made with mercury, salts of mercury, sulfur, and arsenic. All deadly to the human body this meant that most people died when drinking it, but if you mixed it right and added my special ingredient then it worked perfectly.¡±


    ¡°What would happen if the original recipe was used on an animated corpse?¡±


    ¡°Well I imagine it would become immortal. A corpse will not suffer from the poisons as it does not use its bodily functions anymore. However you would have to find someone with the ability to bring the dead to life. The only ones I can think that can do that are Necromancers but I haven¡¯t seen one in years. Plus what Necromancer would dabble in alchemy? And even if they did what fool would use it on a corpse?¡±


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    [ Sigh, I can think of one. ] ¡°¡­ Alchemist I will take my leave now. Your were of great help.¡±


    ¡°I am always happy to help you Amke.¡± He smiled a sickening sweet smile. ¡°Please drop by whenever. I love to have chats with you, and if possible maybe an experiment here and there.¡± His smile turned predatory. I frowned and started walking away dragging Jared behind. ¡°See you Amke, oh you go by Kaz now right? I¡¯ll drop by the town some time. Now that you stay in one place it¡¯s so much easier to track you down. See you then.¡±


    I shuddered, [ Damned, Alchemist stocker! My you die of asphyxiationcaused by your own experiments! ]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    (¡®Resident¡¯ POV)


    Shadow Wood was annoyingly loud today. I looked out the window only to see the Vampires walking down the street dragging fluffy cats behind them. They were all headed to the Obsidian & Blood Cafe for a ¡¯Siege Twixt Grimalkin¡¯. I could not believe how ridiculous the Vampires were becoming. Everyday it became worse and worse.


    I pulled out a sheet of paper and and wrote:


    Dear Witch, when is KAz scheduled to return?


    I tossed the paper up to be swallowed by darkness leaving it to the shadows to deliver my message. If I have to spend any more time in this hell of paperwork and fluffy joy I was going to burn it to the ground. This of corse defeat the purpose of the town in the first place but recently I have been questioning the need for it. With the Humans dead and or suffering I did not need a town to acted as a disguise. All it would take is one more fluffy, crazy, miserably happy person and I would destroy it.


    Smiling to myself at the thought of unleashing a mass plague on this miserable little town I completed more paperwork. [ Who should I start with? Ah, I know that accursed Witch that started this mess. ]


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    CharacterList


    Spoiler : <input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Lisa - Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac

 Chapter 18: Ice and the Unknown

    Ice and the Unknown


    I walked slowly through the snow covered forest. The white snow shimmered in the sun creating an ethereal effect. Enjoying the feeling of the forest and the biting wind I closed my eyes as I walked. There was no need to worry over others or solve problems here. A smile crept onto my face as I continued walking. Then I froze. A fox came out and stood in my way. It ruffled it''s fer indicating to follow it. I frowned but still followed. The fox took us deeper into the woods next to a lake. There it sat and taped the ice. A small ripple ran through the water gathering in the center.


    Ice splintered and swirled in a small storm slowly settling down reviling a crystal clear humanoid shaped figure. Her hair flowed in the wind despite being made of ice. Ice crystals branched out from her feet with every step she took. She stood in front of me and bowed slightly.


    "It is an honer to have you visit this humble forest. Thank you for taking the time to come and see me."


    "It has been a while since I have seen a Limnad." I smiled "I can see that the forest is strong and healthy despite the times."


    "Thank you for the complement. I have tried very hard to keep it that way." She tilted her head to the side making the ice splinter a little before reforming. "If it is not to much trouble I would like to make a report to you." I frowned. "Lately there have been strange creatures disturbing the forest. They go and attack anything that moves creating unrest in my family. I have done my best to keep them at bay but I am afraid that once the season changes I will no longer be able to do so."


    "I see... How are you keeping them at bay right now."


    "I freeze them. It is something I have done before when people came to chop wood from the inner forest and it seems to work on them too. However I can still feel that they are alive despite being frozen. I fear that as soon as the season changes and they start to thaw they will just continue to kill my family."


    "Can you show me these frozen creatures?"


    "Of course. Please follow this fox he will show you where to go. I hope that you can do something about this. I worry for my family and the other forests if they are facing the same problem."


    "I will see what I can do." I turned and walked away with the fox. We walked to the edge of the forest. The boundary was surrounded by frozen statues. In different sizes, shapes, and pieces. These were definitely Zombies. The fox barked and ran off back into the forest. [ Thank you for guiding me.... ] I turned back to the Zombie statues.


    Curiously I walked up to the frozen Zombie. As I got closer it gave out muffled moaning sounds showing it to be alive and well. However completely unable to move. I smiled wickedly and started to taunt it and the others by poking them with sticks. Soon I was bored by their lack of reaction due to being frozen. [ What would happen if I ripped an arm off?? ]  I walked up and pulled the arm of the Zombie statue off with a horrible cracking noise. Nothing happened not even a moan of pain. [ Boring... ]  I through the arm down into the snow. [ At least we know that they are effected by the elements now. Sigh what a boring discovery. ] I trudged my way back into the forest. [ Tsk, now even the forests are bothered by the Zombies. Terry had better have some results to show when I get back. ]


    I had sent Jared back to his parents a couple of days ago so that I could wonder the forests in piece but now it was time to head back to Shadow Wood. Smiling I closed my eyes. With every step I took the forest slowly changed to a tall red wood one. The smells and noises changed from a quite snow pine forest to a green noisy one that welcomed me with a maze of trees and chirps of birds. I opened my eyes to see my forest greeting me.


    ------------------------------------------------------------


    (Terry POV)


    I sat in my basement working on a commission from the gremlin mother. One her kids had died of terror while being held captive by the ''Resident''. I worked slowly but steadily on the circle that was needed to conducted the spell. I had decided to use the strongest one I knew because of how he had died as well as who killed him. I wasn''t really sure this would work due to the killer being the entrance to the underworld but I hope it would let it pass.


    I finished the last line on the circle then sat back to admire my work pleased with how it turned out. [ Bwahahahahahaha Not even the God of the Dead himself could defy this circle!]  "Bwahahahahaha!!!"


    "Terry guess what!!" I jumped as banging noises came from the stairs as some one ran down. The door slammed open to show a sweet little girl dressed up entirely in white with a giant smile on her face.


    "What? Did one of your cadavers come to life on its own?"


    "Nooo!" She pouted


    "Oh too bad I was hopping so badly that that would happen to you creepy old hag."


    "Terry your so mean. While I might be old at least I''m not playing with death! Anyway you''ll never guess so I''ll just tell you. Kaz came back!"


    "What?"


    "Kaz came back!" She was jumping up and down with excitement. "What do you think he will do when he sees the Town. There have been so many new improvements!"


    "Improvements? No not improvements more like remodeling. There is a giant hole in the middle of town, and there is about to be an all out turf war."


    "I know right. Won''t it be fun. Plus I like the new holes in town. It makes walking around more fun! I''d say that they were improvements."


    "I see well I guess they could be considered improvements.... Bwahahahaha I can''t wait to see his face. Mori what do you think is going to happen?"


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    The little girl Mori tilted her head in confusion. "I don''t know."


    I smiled brightly. "That''s true. Hey do you want to help me with this?" I pointed to the dead Gremlin child.


    "Ewww! No! I only like to make the dead look pretty not bring them back. Do it your self." With that she turned and stomped her way out the door.


    "Bwahahahahaha, this will be so much fun. Lets hurry up and revive this child so I can see Kaz."


    I turned back to the circle and started my chant:


    Cerberus, curator of silenti,


    sino phasmatis venire contra mihi.


    Phasmatis,


    radix quod causa of vita,


    commodo adeo suffragium mihi in meus negotium.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I''m sorry for the very late update I had a bit of writers block. Also if you have any questions about words or creatures just leave a comment and I''ll try to answer it as long as its not about what Kaz is of course. Hope you enjoyed.


    Character list


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker

 Chapter 19: Problems, Problems Everywhere

    Problems, Problems Everywhere


    I smiled as my forest welcomed me home going back to its former maze like structure. As I walked through I could tell that there were a lot more wild animals in the forest than before specifically raccoons...? I shook my head as I exited the forest towards the Town Hall. Then froze. Every where I looked there were vampires dressed all in black dragging cats. And not just any type of cats but large fluffy ones. They were the type that if you through them off a building they would just puff out and float down. I just stood and watched as one of the vampires walked by dragging the cat along the ground behind her.


    [ What in the world? ]  Shaking myself back into focus I continued down the road. Not much further down was the vampire cafe called Obsidian & Blood Cafe. In the window was a piece of paper that said ''Siege Twixt Grimalkin''. [ .... Sit between cats? ]  Looking in I saw several vampires with cats having what looked like some twisted tea party. "..."


    Continuing down the road I reached a giant hole in the ground. The hole took up the entire road and even had a wooden bridge across it. It reviled the the Hidden City in all its glory. "Sigh.." I continued across the bridge and into the Town Hall. "Lisa, why is there a giant hole outside the building?"


    "Kaz your finally back." She set down a paper and smiled slightly. "You can not imagine what I had to go through with you gone. The ''Resident'' was no help at all and even caused more problems."


    "What?" [ She actually had the ''Resident'' take over for me? ]


    "Anyway there is so much that needs to be fixed right now? Please come with me I''ll show you what has happened while you were gone."


    "Hold on I have one question before we go. What is with all the cats?"


    Lisa slit her eyes. "That is because of Seth."


    "What Seth?"


    "Yes..." Lisa made a disgusted face. "Seth decided to ''Save'' all the cats he could find because they were abandoned by their owners."


    ".... I-I see..."


    We walked out and stood in front of the hole. "This hole was caused by a... scuffle between the ''Resident'' and the Mother Gremlin."


    "Why were the two fighting?"


    "Sigh... Well the Gremlin children though that it would be funny to tease the baby Kraken. This did not go over very well with the ''Resident'' as a result he imprisoned them.  The Mother did not like this and started arguing with the ''Resident''. This argument was getting no where do the Council decided to send a Shadow to retrieve the children. When the children were brought before the Mother one of the had died from terror. This did not go over well and the result is this hole. Also the dead Gremlin is being taken care of by Terry. So that doesn''t really need your attention. However the Hidden City is very upset by the hole. They wish to have it filled in and to have someone make sure that this case is hidden from other people."


    "...." [ What the Hell? ]  "Sigh.... I see..... Call a meeting with Phil. Also see if there is anyone that can cover this hole up. It would be best to get the hole covered as soon as possible." [ How am I supposed to cover up the fact that there is an entire city underground when its been exposed like this. Sigh. ]


    "Understood. There is more that I must show you. This one is also more urgent then this."


    "Is that so..."


    We wondered through the town towards the power plant. The closer we got the quieter it was. Finally we reached the edge of where the Humans from Redroad stayed. It was a disaster. Scorched buildings, holes, drag marks, broken windows, and destroyed plants littered the area. [ Sigh, what happened here? ] The more I looked the more destruction I saw.


    "The entire area is like this."


    "Are the Humans alright?"


    "Yes they are. They are currently back at the community center."


    "Sigh, Can you tell me what happened here." [ Though I think I already know. ]


    "Certainly, this all started when the Human children went to play with the Golems." [ I knew it . ]   "Van did explained that the Golems were harmless and the Humans accepted that grudgingly. However they still band their children from playing with them. When the Humans found out they did not like that. They locked up the children and didn''t let them go outside. The Golems were.... ''displeased'' with this and started.... ''releasing'' the children from their captors. The result as you see before you."


    "Of course it is." [ What a headache ]  "Where is Van?"


    "She is currently in her office. It would be best if you go talk to her."


    I nodded my head. "Is there anything else?"


    "Nothing that is as urgent as this. I will set up a meeting with Phil for tomorrow and have the hole filled in by tonight. I will send my crow if anything comes up before you are back."


    "Thank you." Lisa turned and started walking back to the office. [ Sigh, well lets go and talk to Van. ]


    The inside of the Power Plant was quite clean compared to outside but I couldn''t see a single Golem. I walked into Van''s office only to find no one there. [ Where is she? ]  I stood quietly and listened. There a sound. It was coming from underneath me. I opened a hatch in the corner of the room and climbed down.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "And this is why you are trapped here!"


    "Grahhhhhahhh"


    "No! In the first place I told you not to! But nooooooo! You had to go and ''Save'' the kids!" I walked down a dark hallway following the yelling. [ When did she build this? ]


    "Grrraaaaaaaa. Ghaaaaa."


    "I don''t care if they were locked in their rooms! Oh for gods sake. Look you miscible hunks of dirt. Kids get locked up in their rooms as a punishment. They are not enslaved. This is not 430 BCE but 2015!"


    "Gaaaaaaaah."


    The Golems were trapped in a cage while Van yelled at them. "Ahem."


    Van jumped and turned around. "Kaz is that you?" She glanced at the Golems in the cage. "Sooo, when did you get back? ~"


    "..... 40 minutes ago...."


    "Is that so.... Anyway what brings you here?~"


    ".... I heard what happened to the Humans."


    "Is that so.... Well I have to say that the Dirk just didn''t understand and caused a bit of a commotion. However I have it under control. ~" She smiled sweetly.


    "I can see that.... How are things going between you and the Humans besides this incident."


    "Oh quite well~ We get along."


    "Graaagh Garrrrgh."


    "Shut up Dirk!"


    "Right... Well I can move the Humans somewhere else if that would be better for you."


    "Ohhh can you? That would be great. I''m always afraid that they might accidentally end up in the middle of one of my experiments. Hahahahahaha."


    "Alright so I''ll move the humans somewhere else. Just make sure that the Power Plant runs."


    "Will do~ Take care Kaz~" Van waved me off happily. [ That woman is psychotic. Sigh, now were to put the Humans."


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker

 Chapter 20: Return to Hostility

    Return to Hostility


    The news of my return had slowly spread among the citizens. As a result less and less people could be seen wondering down the streets. I walked into my office only to be greeted by a ridiculously high piles of papers. Stacks and stacks of papers.... I frowned in displeasure. [ How did they even get this high? ] I sat down at my desk and pulled out my mike. It was a good time to make an announcement.


    "Good day Citizens of Shadow Wood. As you may have noticed I had been gone for the last week on a little vacation. I had hoped that everyone would have behaved while I was gone but no such thing happened. Instead you decided to create havoc.  Lets start with the teasing of the baby Kraken. Those of you that have done this have disregarded the rules for pranks in this town. All pranks must go through the Prank Association. This rule was put into place to prevent kidnappings and deaths from happening. If you do not first go to the Prank Association and decide to do it anyway you are liable for whatever happens to you and the Council can not help you. Please keep this in mind the next time you wish to prank or tease someone.


    After coming back I was informed of the destruction of the Human residential area. While there I noticed some derogatory graffiti on the walls. Not only was it extremely rude and distasteful some of it was done in a way that it is impossible to paint over it. This proved that it was not just kids writing on the walls but also adults. We the Citizens of Shadow Wood are meant to welcome the Humans into our town not shame them. As such the Humans will be moved to a new area near the coven and those that gratified the previous area will be subjected to punishment. And don''t worry we will find out exactly who was involved. Look forward to it.


    Moving on some of you have noticed an underground city visible from the hole outside the Town Hall. This is an illusion. This City that you see does not really exist. In fact the hole itself does not exist. This illusion was created from a distortion in the air. The distortion should be fixed by tomorrow morning.  Before then please avoid the area as you could become lost and disoriented by this distortion. You may hear, see, and fell different things that make the city seem real but remember that it is all and illusion. "  Lisa came in and handed me a piece of paper.  "On that note I would like to say that it is good to be back and I will be sure to bring the town back to its former state.


    Your local leader,


    Kaz"


    I put the mike down and turned to Lisa. "A meeting now?"


    "Yes, as soon as the Council members heard your voice on the radio the called a meeting. I''m sure that they would all like to know were you have been for the last week."


    "I see. I shall head down right away. Lisa you come to."


    "Understood." Lisa and I walked into the conference. It was deathly quite. Everyone just watched as I took my seat with Lisa standing behind me.


    "It is good to see everyone again. I heard you had some problems while I was gone. If possible I am hoping you can fill me in on what happened over the last week." I gave a light smile. There  was a long silence after I spoke.


    "If I may go first. I am sure everyone here is wondering where you have been for the last week." Akuji said.


    "But of course. I happened to take a little trip to visit some old friends and to see if I could find out anything new about the Zombie situation."


    "Is that so? Well anything new?" The Vampire asked with a bored tone. I glanced at her only to see something completely unexpected. She was holding a snow white fluffy cat with blue eyes in her lap. She was even stroking if in a evil villein way. [ Pffft... ]


    "... I have found out that the Court of Life are looking into this problem." A couple of people paled. "They are trying to find out a way to stop the Zombies as well as who was the cause in the first place. Thankfully they are making no progress. On the other hand I have also found out that the Zombies are susceptible to the weather."


    "I see..." The Vampire looked a little shaken by this. "Well it is good to hear that the Zombies are affected by the weather. How are they affected?"


    "Well in cold icy weather they freeze. They become wonderful ice statues. Completely unable to move but can make noisy. It appears that they will stay that way until the ice thaws."


    "That is good news. So we can just keep them frozen at all times than." said the Fae.


    "I don''t see why we care about the Zombies. They are no problem to us." Seth grumpily said.


    "Werewolves are so simple minded." The insult came from a man dressed entirely in black.


    "What did you say ghost?!"


    "Only the truth mutt. If the Court of Life finds out that our town is the cause of this incident then we are dead. This is why we are interested in the Zombies. Before this it didn''t matter who or how many died but now it is our problem."


    "As if it is our problem. What is so special that about this Court of Life that have to fear them? Plus it is that Damned Necromancers problem not ours."


    "Now, now Seth. The Necromancer lives in Shadow Wood so it is our problem." The Fae tried to calm the situation. "The Court of Life is in charge of all supernatural creatures and the Zombies do in fact harm us. This makes the Court really interested in this case. They can also be a little unforgiving about incidents such as this."


    "...." Seth looked a bit disbelieving.


    "You are wrong little Fairy we Vampires are not ruled by the Court of Life." The Vampire glared at the Fae.


    "That''s right you are hunted by them are you not." The Fae smiled sweetly.


    "Look here you solidified Pixie dust we are not and have never been hunted by the Court of Life. As the name says the Court is only in charge of living things. Vampires classify as Undead not Living."


    "Oh ho, your denial of reality sure is something you over sized mosquito."


    Stolen novel; please report.


    "Shouldn''t you stop them?" Lisa whispered to me"


    "Is that so. I''m sure that you would know all about that being creatures that don''t even live on this plain to begin with. Yet you ran here to save yourselves from your own wars." The Fae''s hair started to be twinged with pink and her eyes red.


    "Sigh, Ok everyone lets calm down. The Court of Life doesn''t know that we are the cause yet. It is also true that the Court of Life and the Shadows Assembly at eachother''s throat due to differences in belief." I tried to get everyone back on track. "Now we can still prevent the Court from knowing it was us as long as we can get rid of the Zombies. However for that to happen we need more information. Right now we know how to stop it from spreading temperately by freezing them in place, but this will only work in the north and only in the winter. We need a better plan. So why don''t we first find out what Seth has found out while he was outside the wall."


    "... So.... Right, there is a Human sanctuary that has been built not to far from here. it seems that they are currently holding there own there. The Zombies are also more abundant over there. In areas where there are no longer any people the Zombies have moved on. Creating entirely deserted areas. Other than that I haven''t been able to find any weakness of the Zombies."


    "Is that so.... Thank you. I will have to send someone over to the Human sanctuary to see if they have found out anything. Well as this is all we have right now about this why don''t we move on. What has happened while I was away."


    "....."


    I stared out at every one waiting for someone to speak up. ".... Everything is fine." The gargoyle lied.


    "Yes nothing interesting has happened while you were gone." Seth chimed in.


    "...."


    "Is that so? Then I guess I just imagined the increase in animals in town or the completely destroyed Human area. I also didn''t see a gaping hole in the ground." Some on the people flinched when I said this. "Now I have already started taking care of these issues but I am sure there are more that have not been mentioned."


    "......"


    [ Sigh,  are you serious? No one will talk. ]   "I see, then I will call this meeting to an end. If something happens notify me." With that I stood and left the room with Lisa trailing behind. "Lisa contact Terry and have him come to my office."


    "Of course." Lisa walked off as I made it back to my office and the land of paper. [ Sigh, might as well get this done. ]


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker

 Chapter 21: Confirming Theory

    Confirming Theory


    The door slammed open making me jump slightly. Terry walked in with a huge smile on his face as he pulled a chair over to in front of my desk. He looked way to happy for my liking. I frowned as he sat down. I swear he drug the chair with the intentions of leaving scrape marks on the floor.


    "Kaz! I''m so glad your back." His general happiness pissed me off.


    "Really I thought you would have liked to work under the ''Resident'' more since I am a ''crazy'' person."


    Terry froze, "Now Kaz why would you think that?" He made a confused face.


    "Oh no reason really. Its just that Juliana had heard that some ''crazy dude'' was running a town full of supernatural creatures, but I guess that it was about someone else." Terry had a bit of a stained smile.


    "Must be...."


    ".... Anyway when I was out I went to see your Master to give me some advice about the Zombie problem you caused. I heard some interesting things like how the Court of Life is looking into this," Terry visibly paled but still held onto his smile. [ Ah, this is making me feel so much better. ]  "Not only that but it seems that she didn''t know anything in Necromancy that could cause immortality. So I had to go see my old pal Nicolas Flamel on the subject of Alchemy, and guess what I found out." I smiled at Terry.


    "What did you find out?" Terry was shifting uneasily in his seat.


    "There is this thing called the Elixir of Life. One of the many recipes gives off this wonderful sulfur smell. The same smell that was found at the graves." I watched Terry squirm and fidget under my gaze. "Well that is what I think made the Zombies immortal. It also turns out that it is highly toxic to the body. Which would show why you would like to test it on the undead first. But of course you wouldn''t know anything about that."


    "O-Of course not."


    "Well if it was used it seems to have mutated and caused it to become something like a virus. Really this is such an annoying problem. Terry go capture a Zombie and take it to the Undertaker to be examined. I''m sure we will find out something interesting. Be happy I am letting go through with you original research." Terry got up and was about to leave. "Oh and it seems the Zombies can be frozen. This should make it easier to capture. Good luck."


    "Yes Master Kaz." Terry bowed and left. [ Ah, I feel so much better now. ]  I finished off the last piece of paper while smiling. [ Well then... ]  I got up and walked down to Lisa.


    "Lisa, I''ll be out visiting the Hidden City if you need me."


    "Does this have anything to do with the meeting tomorrow?"


    "... No please keep that the same. I will be visiting someone else today."


    "Understood. I already have people filling in the hole outside. It should be done before midnight."


    "Is that so? Good." With that I walked outside to see the progress. The hole was being filled in by about fifteen Gargoyles. [ Hmmm, nice choice. ]  I walked to the edge of the hole as the Gargoyles stopped to see what I was doing. "Keep up the good work." I said with a smile as I jumped down.


    The hole wasn''t to deep if you used the buildings just right to brake the fall. I landed on path that looked like a mountain road only underground. It was dark only light by a couple of lights here and there. I looked off the side of the path further down into the black abyss. Seeing if there was anything new since I have been here, but it was still the same. I shook my head and continued down the path. It didn''t take long to reach what I was looking fore.


    It was a small house carved into the wall. The only thing that really indicated that it was a house and not just a part of the rock wall was the door with the name Einar carved at the top. I smiled and knocked.


    "Coming...." The stone door slowly slid open to revel a dusky skinned Elf, golden eyes, and purple black hair. "Kaz?"


    "Why hello there Corey. How are things?"


    Corey blinked then moved out of the way. "Please come in. Everything is fine here. Nothing has changed." We walked into the living room that was sparsely decorated with only a couple of chairs and a table.


    "Is that so? Well that''s good to hear. It has been a while since I came down here so I thought I would visit. I also have a task that I would like completed."


    "Of course. If it is something you wish done then I will complete it." Corey''s face was an expressionless mask.


    I smiled. "I would like you to go to this new Human Sanctuary and find out what you can about it. If there is anything interesting or that catches your eye please look further into it. You are aloud to have interaction with the Humans but please do so in disguise. Go see Akuji for a charm that you can use. There is no set time period for this mission. It is completely up to your own judgement."


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Understood."


    "One more thing are there any problems with the Hidden City?"


    Corey was quite for a moment. "There is a hole to the outside world." I smiled at that response.


    "That should be taken care of by tonight." He nodded. "Well that is all. If you hit any problems or do stumble across anything interesting then tell me. Other than that tell me what you think of the Sanctuary after 24 hours there." With that I stood up.


    "Understood. I will follow your orders without fail."


    "Thank you Corey. I look forward to your report." I walked out and back to towards the hole. It was about halfway patched up now. Jumping back through I landed on the street only to see the sun going down. Lisa was standing at the hole waiting.


    "Kaz, the ''Resident'' is in your office. It wishes to talk to you."


    "I would imagine so. Thank you Lisa."


    "I will be calling it a day."


    "Very well." With that Lisa left to go home. [ Sigh, one more thing to be done. ]


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City

 Chapter 22: Meeting

    Meeting


    Walking into my office I saw the ''Resident'' sitting in the chair Terry drug over earlier. I walked over to my chair and sat down this was going to be a long conversation.


    "Good evening Kaz. I am glad you are back." A white toothy smile could be seen from the shadow of the cloak.


    "As am I. It would appear that if I had been gone any longer there would be war in the streets."


    "Hahahahahaha, well there is nothing you can do about that. You had been here since the town was created never taking a day off. Suddenly leaving like that can cause a lot of problems that no one knows how to fix."


    "Is that so? I heard that you caused some problems yourself. Specifically with the Gremlin kids."


    "Well, that just happened. I decided that I should be the one to give out punishment to those naughty children."


    "Causing one of them to die from fright was taking it a bit far."


    "I will admit that the death of the Gremlin child was unintentional. However I still believe that it was the right action to take."


    "Sigh, I see..."


    "However I am more interested in how you are able to do that ridiculous amount of paperwork so quickly." The ''Resident'' looked around the room. "I don''t see a single piece left."


    "It''s not that hard once you figure out what each piece is for."


    "Is that so? I would of never been able to finish all of that."


    "Heh, that''s just because your not used to it."


    "Coming onto another topic, how was your vacation?"


    "It was so so. I took the time to try and solve some of the mysteries behind the Zombie epidemic."


    "Oh, and?"


    "Well I was able to confirm some things. The Zombies were in fact raised through Necromancy and their immortality came from Alchemy. Specifically the Elixir of Life."


    "That is very interesting. If so then why does it spread? A potion would normally only effect on the person that took it. I also do not believe that something like that would work on someone already dead."


    "I have some answers to those questions but not all. I meet with a renowned Alchemist. He believed that it was possible for it to effect an already dead organism. However the Elixir itself only worked after he added something to it and he never shared what it was. That would mean the Terry was working off of the original recipe. The only thing I can think of is that the potion mutated and mixed with the Necromancer''s magic causing the potion to change."


    "Hmmm, that is possible."


    "I will find out when I get the results back from the Undertaker."


    "Oh ho, you are going to have Mori look at it?"


    "Yes, she is the only one with enough knowledge to do this."


    "True, I do not think anyone else has anywhere near the amount of experience as she does."


    "''Resident'' I hate to change the topic but something troubling has come up. The Court of Life has taken a profound interest in the Zombie epidemic."


    The ''Resident'' frowned and leaned back in the chair. "This is truly troubling. How much do they know?"


    "Not much. They''ve put Constantine Dracul in charge of it."


    "Really? That is surprising. Why would they do that. Do they not detest the dead?"


    "Yes, but it they said that it is because he is closer to what the Zombies are and should be able to figure it out."


    "Hahahahahaha, Did he do something to the Court?"


    "Sigh, no his son his currently chasing the King''s daughter."


    ".... Are you serious?"


    "Unfortunately."


    "Heh, well know that is interesting. If I am not mistaken his son is a Dragon and a Vampire combined. Oh I bet the King is extremely annoyed about this. He has always had a thing against hybrids. Especially when it involves a meeting of Life and Death. Oh, how I wish to see his face."


    "Well you may get your wish soon." The ''Resident''s'' joy disappeared.


    "That is true. Why must you ruin my fun. Sigh."


    "Now, now it''s only the truth. Plus you know the saying be careful what you wish for."


    ".... You are enjoying this. But let me remind you that the King does not like you either."


    ".... And I am the joy killer?"


    "This town has stayed under the radar so far, but when it is found because of this incident, many people will suffer."


    "Sigh, you''re right. We''ll have to be careful. Thankfully Constantine is a friend of mine so he will keep as quite as possible about Shadow Wood."


    "Hm, than that just leaves us fining a way to eradicate the Zombies before the Court of Life finds out to much."


    "I already found out that they can be frozen and unable to move but they still live through it. It would only take them thawing out and they would be back to destroying things."


    "So they can be frozen. Interesting. Maybe this will buy us some time."


    "Maybe... I heard about a place not far from here that is called a ''Sanctuary'' by the Humans. I''ve sent Corey to investigate it. Maybe they have some useful information."


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "It is worth a try. If they can build a ''Sanctuary'' then maybe they found a way to fend them off."


    "That is what I''m hoping for."


    "Hmm, well this is quite a puzzling situation we are in. If you do not mind I think I will head out for a walk."


    "Sure do as you will. I''ll keep you up to date as I get more news."


    "Well then good night. Oh, and a little bit of information for you that I am sure the Council did not tell you for fear of their pitiful lives. A turf war is about to brake out in town."


    "What?"


    " I am not sure who it is but if you want more information then you should see Mori. I am sure she knows. Hehehe, Good Night."


    "Are you kidding me? Sigh..." I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling. [ A turf war? So it didn''t matter how long I was gone a war still broke out. Sigh... I feel like I am forgetting something. ]


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly

 Chapter 23: A Creepy Little Girl and New People

    A Creepy Little Girl and New People


    Water pored down on me as I walked across the grassy plains. I headed to an overhang to escape the freezing rain. It was deep enough that the water couldn¡¯t reach me but still aloud for the grass to grow. I sat down and started wringing water out of my cloths.


    A few a month ago I heard of a land called Garearsh¨®lmi. The humans said that it was a beautiful land filled with fertile land. However after making my way up here all I have seen is freezing rain and grass plains. Not a single plant that was above four hands tall. Not that I was complaining the area is wonderful. Mountains littered the area causing the terrain to be treacherous. A truly wild area.


    I laid my cloths out flat to let it dry. A scuffing sound came from behind me. I turned to see a man with pointy ears sanding just under the overhang watching me. It looked like he had come under to shelter in the rain only to see me.


    ¡°Well hello there. Quite the morbid weather isn¡¯t it?¡± I smiled. The man became more cautious. ¡°Do you live around here?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I walked over to the wall and sat down leaning against it. If he didn¡¯t want to talk I wouldn¡¯t force him. I watched as the rain created a temporary waterfall from it running off the rocks. The man came further in to get completely out of the rain. He glanced at my cloths laying on the ground.


    ¡°Ah, well it was to get the water to dry off. I don¡¯t want to wear wet cloths.¡± He nodded and started wringing out his own. [ But still he is an unusual looking elf. ] I had seen many different elves in my travels but he looked completely different from any of them. Dark dusky skin like the earth elves found in rocky areas and black hair like the eastern elves however with a purple twinge, and golden eyes.


    As I was zoning out watching the rain the elf had come closer. I glanced up. ¡°Yes?¡±


    The elf stared for a while then asked. ¡°Do you control elements?¡± I tilted my head in confusion at the question. The elf pointed at my wet cloths then at me. [ Ah, is it because I¡¯m dry? ]


    ¡°Well something like that.¡± He nodded and sat down.


    ¡°My name is Corey Einar.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you I¡¯m Raul. No last name.¡± Corey nodded but didn¡¯t say anything more. ¡°¡­ Corey I have a question. What kind of elf are you?¡± He stiffened a little but still spoke.


    ¡°I am an elf of D?kk¨¢lfr and Lj¨®s¨¢lfr decent. As such my race is unclear. That is why I am called Corey.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Well what brings you all the way out here in this weather Corey?¡± [ A Dark and a Light elf mix? Thats unusual. ]


    He was quite for a moment. ¡°There is no reason. I only walked then ended here.¡±


    ¡°I see. Do you know if there are any towns around here?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I will lead you to one when the rain stops.¡±


    ¡°Lead me to one? You can just tell me where it is and I¡¯ll find it.¡±


    Corey shook his head. ¡°I will lead you.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It is what the earth wants.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­. slam!


    ¡°Ow¡­¡± I laid on the floor of the office. [ I must of fallen asleep at my desk. ] ¡°Sigh¡­¡± I stood up and placed the chair back in place. Rubbing my head I walked out of the office. [ Lets go see Mori. ] I headed over to the Undertaker¡¯s. It around 3 am but I knew Mori would be up doing her research.


    I walked through the door to see coffins running along the walls and randomly stacked on the floor. They came in all shapes, sizes, colors, and materials. A door leading to Mori¡¯s living area was on the opposite wall. I wove my way through the caskets to the door.


    ¡°Mori.¡± I called. The room was overflowing in pink and white furniture. Stuffed animals and other toys laid around the room. A large teddy bear that was in the corner of the room stood up and walked over. It was missing an eye and had patches all over with the occasional stuffing poking out.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    The mouth of the bear ripped open and spoke. ¡°Good Morning Kaz. I will lead you to where Master is.¡± Stuffing started spilling out of its mouth as it spoke. ¡°Follow me.¡± It shoved the stuffing back in and walked off up to the roof of the building.


    Mori was sitting at the edge kicking her feet as she watched something in the distance. ¡°Oh, Teddy why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Teddy has brought Master Kaz.¡± Mori jumped up and tackled me.


    ¡°Kaz!! Are you here to play?¡± She asked while rubbing her head against me.


    ¡°¡­ No Mori I¡¯m not here to play with you today. I came because the ¡®Resident¡¯ said that you know things about the tension in Shadow Wood.¡±


    ¡°Boo, Teddy Kaz didn¡¯t come to play.¡± Mori grabbed onto the bears arm as she pouted.


    ¡°Well if you tell me what I want to know I¡¯ll play with you.¡± Mori brightened up and started twirling around. In the process she ripped the bear¡¯s arm off. ¡°Mori the Town.¡±


    ¡°Right, ummmm¡­. Lets see. You know about the hole in the ground and the humans¡­. Oh, the Vampires now have cute fluffy cats. They ate so cute. I¡¯m sure that they would make excellent corpses. What else¡­ A gremlin child died but it was given to Terry to revive. That was so disappointing. I wanted to make him look cute and place him in the perfect coffin.¡± She pouted slightly when she said that. ¡°Such a waste. There was something else¡­¡­ Right! The Coven is going to start a fight with the new wizards in town!¡± She threw the bear arm into the air.


    ¡°What?¡± [ Wizards? When did they come? ] Mori looked at me confused.


    ¡°Is that not what you wanted to know? I¡¯m sorry but that¡¯s all I know about.¡±


    ¡°No, that is exactly what I want to know. Thank you. Can you tell me where to find these Wizards?¡±


    Mori smiled brightly. ¡°Sure can. They stay over by the wall.¡±


    ¡°I see, thank you.¡± I turned to walk away only Mori grabbed my arm.


    ¡°Are we not going to play Kaz?¡±


    ¡°No, we will play next time.¡±


    ¡°Awww, sniff, Teddy show Kaz out.¡± The bear walked over and opened the door while holding its other arm in its mouth.


    ¡°¡­¡± I walked out of the Undertaker¡¯s and started heading off to the wall¡­ [ Wait which direction? ¡­. I guess I¡¯ll just walk the wall until I find them. Sigh¡­ ]


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    So I now have a website for my book. if your interested here is the link. https://localleaderkaz.wordpress.com/</a> There will be a few surprises at the character section. Like a picture of what Kaz looks like...


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly

 Chapter 24: Pop Up Building?

    Pop Up Building?


    I walked for about an hour before I spotted an unusual building built along the wall. It had what looked like a castle tower that protruded over the top of the wall, and two wings on either side. The stone was decorated with the occasional shining rune making it glisten in the dark. It is amazing to think that entire buildings can pop up in just one week.


    The building blended in perfectly with the wall. I knocked on the door hopping someone would answer. Thankfully the door opened reveling an older man with a grumpy looking face.


    ¡°My I help you?¡± His tone was gruff trying to express his displeasure at my appearance.


    I smiled. ¡°Well good morning. I am the mayor of this town and would like to talk to you about a few things if possible.¡±


    ¡°Mayor? What Mayor? There is no Mayor in this town. If there was one wouldn¡¯t they have greeted us when we first got here? Leave now. Your scam is not welcome. And I won¡¯t fall for it.¡± The man slammed the door in my face. My eyelid twitched in annoyance.


    ¡°¡­ Sigh.¡± I knocked on the door again.


    ¡°I said leave!¡± There was a flash as lightning hit next to me. ¡°That is my final warning!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± I squinted my eyes and knocked harder on the door.


    ¡°That is it! You asked for it!¡± Lightning flashed down and hit me with a vengeance. My frown deepened. I reached out and grabbed the doorknob. The lightning ran from me through the door and ended with a groan of agony. I smiled happily and opened the now chard door. On the other side was the man crumpled on the ground in the fetal position.


    I crouched down so that our eyes could meet. ¡°As I was saying I am the Mayor of Shadow Wood. I have been away for the past week so I was unable to greet you. However I have come to do so now. Is there a place where we can talk.¡±


    The man groaned in pain. ¡°You Monster! Leave!¡± I narrowed my eyes at his response, but still maintained my smile.


    ¡°Is that so¡­.¡± I stood up and walked over him entering the rest of the way into the building. It was beautifully decorated with white marble floors, stone walls, and classy chandeliers that gave off glittering light. I continued down the hall leaving the ignorant fool at the entrance. As I reached the first room a voice called out to me.


    ¡°How may this humble Wizard help you my friend?¡± A man that looked to be in his late 20s stood on the spiral stairs leading to the next floor of the building. He had a pleasent smile on his face but a sharp glint in his eye. [ Much better. ]


    ¡°Good Morning I am the Mayor of Shadow Wood, and have come to discus some things with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± The man glanced down the hall. ¡°Do these things have anything to do with injuring people at random?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. That was just an unfortunate accident.¡±


    The man watched me closely. ¡°Indeed. Well we may talk in the study follow me.¡± The man preceded up the stairs with me following closely behind. We entered a small room filled floor to ceiling with books. The man motioned for me to sit down at one of the chairs.


    ¡°I was not aware that there was a Mayor in this town. When we arrived no one came to greet us so we just settled down in what we felt was an appropriate location.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well there wasn¡¯t anyone that could greet you. I was away on business so for the past week the office has been flooded with work. I am sorry that no one was able to greet you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it is no problem.¡±


    ¡°Out of curiosity how did you find out about this town?¡±


    ¡°Well we didn¡¯t really find out about it. We happened to stumble across this town when we were making our escape from the horrible Zombies.¡± The man continued to watch my every move while maintaining a fake smile.


    ¡°I see¡­ Did you meet anyone in town that explained the rules here?¡±


    At the word rules the man¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°We did not.¡±


    ¡°Well no matter I can do it. My name is Kaz and I am the Mayor of this town called Shadow Wood.¡±


    ¡°So the town is called Shadow Wood¡­ Mayor Kaz would you mind explaining these rules you spoke of?¡± I felt something unpleasant at the edge of my senses.


    ¡°¡­ But of course. First it is important to know the most of the citizens of Shadow Wood are non-human, and we place a great importance in getting along with each other.¡±


    ¡°Hm, I see.¡±


    Next it is important to have a radio in you house/building so that you can here the news broadcasts of the town. There are usually things that you should know spoken in the announcements. For instance if an explosion happens or any events going on.¡±


    ¡°Explosion? Do they happen often?¡±


    ¡°Well its not always an explosion but yes. It happens quite often. Sigh¡­¡± The mans eyes were wide open. ¡°But there is no need to worry we can usually contain it. To some extent. However the occasional death does happen.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me but death is a serious thing.¡±


    ¡°Yes it is but we happen to have a Necromancer in town so if someone you know dies you can always go and request his help. It¡¯s not cheep though and if there is no one to go ask for your resurrection then you will be sent off to the Undertaker to be buried.¡±


    ¡°I-I have never heard of such magic. I mean I have heard of beings called Necromancers but I always thought that they were fairy tales¡­ What sort of magic do they use? Is it possible to learn?¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.     ¡°Ahem, yes it is possible to learn but if you wish to learn it you must go speak to him yourself. It is not my place to divulge such information. This leads to another rule. As there are many different races here and each has their own secrets it is forbidden to investigate such things with out asking for permission from the clan or person first. They will then tell you what they think you should or are aloud to know. Please take this to heart because the town refuses to be liable for any incidents that may happen.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Moving on there are other warnings that are sent through the radio such as if it is unsafe to go out. However it will also tell you about meetings that you can be involved in. Now I think thats all you need to know right now. Lets move on to why I am here.¡± The man grew more cautious when I said this.


    ¡°I have been informed that you and the Coven are not getting along. In fact it has escalated to the point that a mini war may brake out.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± His caution changed to surprise and confusion when I said this.


    ¡°¡­ Did you not know of the Coven?¡±


    ¡°I did not. I have spent all my time since I have gotten here inside this building. I have not heard anything about a witch coven.¡±


    ¡°I see. I can tell that there are quite a few people living here. Would it be possible that some of them could have known about of caused this without telling you?¡±


    ¡°Well yes it is quite possible. We do not really have someone that we report to so many of us do our own solitary research without mentioning it to anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Sigh, Ok. Well that posses a bit of a problem. Can you do me a favor and gather everyone down at the main entrance?¡±


    ¡°Sure I can but I don¡¯t think everyone will listen to me.¡±


    I rubbed my eyes in annoyance. ¡°Will they come if they see something interesting?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    I lifted my hand and formed a small sapling. The man¡¯s eyes grew wide. The sapling began to move around as if trying to get accustom to its body. It shook and then opened to hollows in the wood that it used as eyes. Jumping down out of my hand it landed on its roots, turned, and bowed to me. The man watched in stunned silence.


    ¡°This is a Green Man. Take it with you to the Wizards and use it to convince them to come to the entry.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± He bent down to pick up the creature. ¡°My name is Grisha. It is nice to meet you.¡± With that he ran off with the Green Man.


    ¡°Grisha¡­¡± I looked at the clock on the wall that said that it was 5:30. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a long day¡­¡±


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Can create Green Men


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly


    Grisha - Wizard

 Chapter 25: Kaz Snaps

    Kaz Snaps


    I stood on the stairs looking down at a group of around twenty or so Wizards. They were standing around discussing about the Green Man with none of them even coming close to figuring out what it really was. At some point the Green Man had been taken from Grisha so that they could have a closer look. [ Sigh¡­ ]


    Grisha walked up to me. ¡°Everybody is here.¡± I glanced over at him seeing his hair and cloths a little disheveled from the fight over who would hold and examine the Green Man next. ¡°Though it will be really difficult to get there attention.¡±


    Looking back down at the bickering mob I cursed the ¡®Resident¡¯. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± The Wizard mob was very engrossed with the creature and had not once looked in my direction since I got here. Looking at a clock on the wall across from me I noticed it read 6:34 am. ¡°@#$%@, Go get Akuji and the twins from the Coven.¡± The Green man waved a branch and then took off out the door. The Wizards were startled by the creatures sudden actions and stood frozen in place.


    ¡°¡­ What did you call it?¡± Grisha asked in confusion.


    Ignoring him I cleared my thought. ¡°Ahem¡­ Attention Wizards!¡± The Wizards slowly turned towards me confusion clear on their faces. ¡°My name is Kaz and I am the Mayor of this town that you have settled in.¡± Some murmuring ran through the crowed. ¡°Now I am aware that you did not believe that there was a Mayor of this town however this is because I have been on vacation until yesterday and have not been able to greet you until now. There are a few rules for this town and I have told Grisha here what they are. As such I will have Grisha go over the rules of the town later on.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Grashi looked at me startled.


    ¡°Right now I have something very different to discuss with all of you. I have heard that there has been some disagreements between you and the witch coven. If possible I would like to find out what it is before the Witches get here¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up you fraud!¡± The man from the front door shouted. He had been treated earlier and was now standing down with the rest of the Wizards. ¡°You have no authority here! Leave!¡± He went to the front of the room and then turned to address the Wizards. ¡°This man is the one that shot me with lightning! He didn¡¯t even explain what he was doing here! He just up and attacked me!¡± The crowed glared up at me.


    ¡°Is this true Edmund?¡± Someone asked.


    ¡°Of course! He attacked me with lightning when I opened the door to find out who it was! He even went as far as to step on me!¡± This Edmund Wizard shouted.


    [ Imbecilic Wizard. ] Insults and grotesque insinuations were shouted at me. Some even started chanting spells to attack me. Grisha stated panicking. I frowned in annoyance at the turn of events. [ Maybe I should have killed him? ] I wondered as the Wizards had almost completed their spells.


    Just then the door opened and Akuji walked in. The silver haired child stopped just behind the crowd of Wizards. I watched as he bowed to me and made his voice ring out through the violent mob.


    ¡°Mayor Kaz, you have called for us?¡± The voice rang clearly over the top of the shouting and chanting making the crowed turn to look at the new intruder. I smiled pleasantly.


    ¡°Ah Akuji.¡± Ali Baba and Baba Yoga walked in behind Akuji and also bowed to me. ¡°Your just in time.¡± The crowd turned silent. ¡°I have something I wish to discuss with you. Along with theses Wizards here.¡±


    ¡°Is that so.¡± He looked up at me with an impassive face.


    ¡°I have he¡­¡±


    ¡°What is your kind doing here?!¡± The nitwit Edmond asked. Akuji stared at him before quietly answering.


    ¡°¡­ We have been called here by Mayor Kaz.¡± The man Edmond was slightly disturbed by Akuji¡¯s stare.


    ¡°Th-That is no reason for you to be here! This mayor that you speak of is a fraud!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Akuji just stood there not deeming the man worthy of a response. Ali Baba was clutching her fists while Baba Yoga held onto her shoulder in a silent gesture for her to hold it in.


    I smirked at the seen before me. I could see what was causing the discord and arguments between the two factions. The Wizards were arrogant and knew nothing of the dangers of this town. The Edmond  man did not like Akuji¡¯s silence.


    ¡°Are you ignoring me?!¡± His face one of anger. Some of the other Wizards had looks of disgust and superiority. While others just stayed out of it not wanting to be involved in the conflict. Grisha was staying silent throughout this ordeal but obvious worry showed on his face. Edmond took an aggressive step towards Akuji.


    This Wizard¡¯s haughty arrogance, self assurance that they were right, and over confidence reminded me so much of my younger days around humans. Their general attitude and combative nature at anything new or different had scorched me many times in the past. It wasn¡¯t until later that I learned how to avoid their destructive and violent behavior by blending in. However here it was directed at Akuji and his witch coven.


    I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°KuhuheheHaHaHaHaHa!¡± I burst out laughing. Everyone turned to look at me. Ali Baba and Baba Yoga visible paled by my reaction. While Akuji took a step back to get closer to the two.


    ¡°What are you laughing at nut job?!¡±


    Finally able to stop laughing a toothy predatory grin appeared on my face. I stared at the deluded man that called himself Edmond. His ignorance of the situation only spurred me on. ¡°Oh my, are you talking about me perhaps?¡± My eyes locked onto his not letting a single movement go unnoticed. The room was silent. No one dared to move.


    ¡°Who else could I be talking to?!¡± He smirked obviously thinking that his pitiful little insult would get to me.


    ¡°Kukuku, Well I wonder.¡± The words hung in the air. ¡°I had come here to settle all of you into this town and resolve some issues however¡­ I wonder what I should do now?¡± I tilted my head to the side as I questioned. ¡°Do you have any ideas?¡± I asked this ignorant conceited man waiting impatiently for the answer that would decide his and the others fate.


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    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Sorry for the cliff hanger. =p


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Can create Green Men


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly


    Grisha - Wizard


    Edmond - Fool of a wizard

 Side Story - The Diary Part 1

    Side Story - The Diary Part 1


    Badru POV


    I sat at the library front desk with the most valuable book in the world. It is a diary written by none other than the Mayor! I want to read it so much! The knowledge that is hidden in this book and the mysterious language that it is written in. An unremovable smile was plastered on my face as I looked down at the book.


    A tree spirit that agreed to help me when Lisa took me to the forest was sitting across from me translating the pages. Slowly but surely the words were reviling themselves in plain english. My tail flicked back and forth in inpatients. Finally the tree spirit finished the first page of the book. It picked up the freshly written page with its bark coated hand and gave it to me. I snatched the paper and began reading the first page into the life of our long lived and mysterious leader.


    Today I believe is a Tuesday sometime mid summer. I have been traveling along the forest roads and have lost track of the human¡¯s calendar. That tricky and unnatural time keeping they do annoys me. However if I wish to blend in then I need to


    remember it. I am currently traveling to a civilization that is very developed compared to others.


    When I was in a small village not seven days walk from here they were talking about a city that they called the center of human culture and advancement. Apparently they live in something called a ¡®city¡¯. This is a new word. The places that humans live in are called house, village, town, or cavern. Cavern being a moving village. However they told me that a city is bigger than a town. I do not really wish to go to this ¡®city¡¯ due to the sheer number of humans that are said to live there.


    However when I told Mother this she reminded me of my duty as such I am heading to this ¡®city¡¯. The humans in the village called it Athens I believe. It is found in some place called Greece. The names are crude at best. I do not expect much. I expect that it will just be some oversized village with humans littered around the place. But I can not go against Mother and will head to this ¡®city of Athens¡¯. However I will make the trip there last as long as possible and keep to the shadows so as not to meet any humans.


    The page was a bit confusing. There was no date or real time on the paper. In fact reading this had only brought more questions than answers. When was this? Who is this Mother that he spoke of? And what is his duty? I reread the page hoping to pick up any new information that I might of missed the first time, but the only thing I could get out of it was that it was some time when the ancient Greeks first came into being.


    I looked up at the tree spirit that was diligently translating the diary. However the pace was slow. The spirit looked up at me.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.¡°$%^#@!¡± The head tilt let me know that it was a question that it asked but other than that I had no idea what it wanted.


    ¡°Little one I have no idea what you asked.¡± I responded knowing that it could understand me.


    The spirit pulled over a new piece of paper and wrote down a sentence before showing me. ¡®Are you ok?¡¯ I smiled.


    ¡°But of course little one.¡± I watched as it went back to translating, and I went back to pondering what, who, and when Kaz came into existence. From the paper I now knew that Kaz had a mother but that just made it more difficult because who could possible be the mother of Kaz.


    I thought back to the time I first meet Kaz. It was going on five years now. I had heard of a town where supernatural creatures could live if they wanted to rest and not have to worry about the humans. I had traveled quite the distance and had to be a stow away on a ship to get here. However I made it.


    When I walked into the town I was greeted by the site of many different supernatural creatures going about their daily lives without any fear. I had walked up to one of the gargoyles that was out shopping for food and asked if they knew what I had to do so I could live here. The gargoyle took me to the town hall to meet Kaz. At that time Lisa was not yet Kaz¡¯s secretary so we just walked strait into his office.


    I will remember my first impression of him for as long as I live. Wavy and curly brown hair, moss green eyes that seemed to change colors in the light, and porcelain skin that looks like it was made of moonlight. In contrast to his looks he wore baggy shirt with jeans. His jacket laid on the back of the chair. It looked like he was trying to blend in with his surroundings only to fail miserable.


    It wasn¡¯t that he did anything that gave him away but just a glance and you knew that there was something special about him. It was like he gave off a little glow and had a natural grace about everything he did. I was stunned.


    I looked back down at the translated part of the diary. This would be me one step closer to figuring out the mystery that was Kaz the Mayor of Shadow Wood. I smiled and set the paper down.


    ¡°Little one I am going to go get something to eat. Do you want anything.¡± The little spirit shook its head as it continued translating. ¡°Alright, see you in a little bit.¡± When I come back there should be new translated pages that would lead me closer to what Kaz it. I smiled as I trotted out the door. My tail strait up in the air showing my joy.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    A little bit more substantial in site as to what Kaz is and how powerful he is will be added from now on in the story. Hope you enjoyed and sorry to destroy your hopes that it was the continuation of chapter 25.

 Chapter 26: A Fatal Mistake

    So this chapter <del>may be </del> is slightly violent..... Enjoy


    A Fatal Mistake


    Akuji POV


    Mayor Kaz laughed a haunting and horrible laugh that echoed through the room. I stepped back so that it would be easier to shield the two behind me. Ali Baba and Baba Yoga both grabbed onto the back of my shirt. Their hands trembled slightly in fear. None of us had seen the Mayor like this before but I knew this wouldn¡¯t end well.


    An angry shout from the side drew my attention. ¡°What are you laughing at nut job?!¡± I flenched inwardly at the insulate. While not a great one it did not seem like the wised choice to be calling the Mayor names in his current state.


    I was not sure weather to praise the mans bravery or curse his stupidity. The crazy laughter died down and the Mayor locked eyes with the man. A toothy grin not unlike that of a predator appeared on his face. His eyes narrowed slightly as if zoning in on its prey.


    ¡°Oh my, are you talking about me perhaps?¡± The cheerfulness of the words that left the Mayor¡¯s mouth made me shiver. The room was silent as everyone had frozen in earthier fear or confusion. I refused to let my eyes wonder around for fear that the one moment I looked away he would strike.


    ¡°Who else could I be talking to?!¡±I cringed at the response this idiotic man made. He was not helping the situation.


    ¡°Kukuku, well I wonder.¡± The words hung in the air and dread filled me. I tapped the strange plant creature that had been hiding behind my foot ever since I entered the building. It looked up.


    ¡°I had come here to settle all of you into this town and resolve some issues however¡­¡± A pause that helped to only escalate the emotions flowing around in the room. Desperately I mouthed out an order to the plant creature. ¡®Go get the ¡®Resident¡¯ NOW.¡¯ The creature nodded and ran off as fast as it could.


    ¡°I wonder what I should do now? Do you have any ideas?¡± With a childish head tilt that conveyed confusion on what action he should take these ominous words came out. I know not of what is going to happen but I must try my best has head of the Coven to protect the two behind me. I willed magic to come just under my skin at the ready for anything I needed to do and waited anxiously for what was to come next.


    Kaz POV


    The asinine man looked at me with confusion and anger when I asked this. His face slowly grew redder as his anger rose. ¡°How should I know what a lying fraud of a man should do with his peasant life?! I already told you what I want! Leave!¡±


    I watched his frantic hand movements trying to convey how angry he was and how much he meant those words. A couple of the other Wizards had calmed down and were now joining the mans side. Their lack of fear intrigued me. [ I must be losing my touch. Is it old age? ] Not that it mattered.


    ¡°I see. You wish for me to leave. However I don¡¯t see why I should. This is my town and the way I see it you are imposing on me. Why don¡¯t you leave?¡± The insect did not heed my warning.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see how well you do after this!¡± The insect began chanting a long and drawn out spell. The air tingled and filled with electricity. [ How idiotic. ] Apparently he had already forgotten what had happened at the door not an hour ago. I waited patiently for the man to finish. While I could have killed him plenty of times by now I was curious  about the spell he chose to use.


    Lightning started gathering in the center of the room above him making the lights pale in comparison. It slowly morphed into a serpent the slithered through the air towards me. At four meters (around 13 feet) the lightning serpent looked very imposing. Grisha jumped and started running down the stairs to get away from it.


    I extended my hand out in front of me and touched the head that came diving in. The serpent froze. With a tap I sent it hurdling back at the man. I smiled with joy as I watched the serpent land squarely on it¡¯s mark. Lightning shot in every direction. The Wizards who were standing quietly before were now running around trying to dodge and shield themselves from the lightning.


    I felt natural magic tingly in the air as a barrier went up around the three witches. The lightning finally died down to reveal the unharmed fool. He had shielded himself at the last moment and managed to get away from the serpent¡¯s devastating attack. Next to him was a scorched body of an unfortunate Wizard that could not get away in time.


    ¡°Ho.¡± I raised an eyebrow at his survival. The man was panting and glaring at me. He started chanting again however two of the closest Wizards ran and tackled him to the ground.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± He struggled to get free.


    ¡°Are you crazy Edmond you want to shoot another spell?¡± One of the Wizards asked.


    ¡°You saw what happened just now. One of us is dead because of this.¡± The other Wizard stated. I looked closer and noticed that he was the one that asked the insect if it was true that I attacked him.


    I frowned slightly at the two Wizards that were starting to destroy my fun. Hopping over the railing of the stairs I landed next to some terrified Wizards. They scrambled to get away from me. I walked slowly towards the trio. My actions had drawn their attention away from the struggling insect.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Well, well what do we have here? Some Wizards that wish to save the day?¡± The two on top of the haughty insect paled. ¡°Two times he has attacked me today and you wish to save him? How ignorant.¡± The two stood up and turned to face me. I stopped an arms reach away from them. ¡°I had planed to let the first attack go because of ignorance of the situation and gave him the benefit of the doubt. However even after getting a taste of his own medicine this morning he still dares to attack me.¡±


    The two frowned and glanced down at the pitiful man creature. ¡°Inferno!¡± Fire formed and shot out at me from the insects hand. The two that were in front of him jumped to the side in horror. My smile returned as I stepped to the side gracefully dodging what can only be a fire ball. A few more formed and flew around the room as I dodged everyone of them. I watched as the Wizards ran around trying to keep from being burned by the magic. [ Ah truly entertaining. ] A couple of them fell to the ground with burns and groaning in pain.


    I walked up to the pitiful creature that new not of fear. ¡°My you are causing quite a bit of destruction aren¡¯t you.¡± In frustration he fired more fire balls at me that I simple side stepped away from. I grabbed the mans shirt collar and watched him struggle as I lifted him up into the air. ¡°For giving me such entertainment I will let you decide. Will it be a quick death or a painful one?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± The man creature shouted at me as he struggled. I smiled wider.


    ¡°A painful one it is.¡± The air pressure rose causing the Wizards that were still close to us to run to the other side of the room. The lights dimmed and wind picked up giving it an eerie green glow. A tree started sprouting from the ground and slowly grew bigger. As the branches grew they stabbed their way into the insects body. He screamed in agony as it started down at the feet and slowly made its way up. As the tree grew the branches that were stuck in the man would grow wider increasing the pain and suffering he would feel.


    The door to the building slammed open and a shadow raced its way over to me. It spread out and enclosed the insect and me from the rest of the people in the room. The shadows moved with the wind and created a barrier. Slowly a figure emerged walking out of the shadows. I turned to look at it and smiled presently as the tree continued the torture it was called out to due.


    ¡°Why hello there ¡®Resident¡¯ how may I help you this fine morning?¡± The ¡®Resident¡¯ watched the man suffer in agony for a second before it had the shadows move in and devour him. The screaming stopped and not a piece of the man could be seen. I frowned.


    ¡°Kaz¡­¡± The ¡®Resident¡¯ paused as if unsure what to say. ¡°¡­ Shall we go get a bite to eat?¡±


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Can create Green Men and trees


    Redirect Magic


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Controller of Shadows


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly


    Grisha - Wizard

 Chapter 27: Save One, Kill All

    Save One, Kill All


    ¡°What?¡± I was stunned. How dare he take away my toy. The ¡®Resident¡¯ shifted uncomfortable.


    ¡°¡­¡± I glared at the ¡®Resident¡¯ as it remained silent. ¡°¡­ A bite to eat?¡±


    My eye twitched. ¡°No, I do not want to go eat something. I wanted to torture, maim, and kill that pitiful insect.¡±


    ¡°Ahem¡­ Right, well that is probably not a good idea. I do believe that you came here to discuss something with these people so it would be best¡­¡±


    ¡°Best? What would be best? These people were here for most of a week and no one came to greet them.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Then in that week they manage to brake one of the most important rules which is not to attack another citizen. However no one comes down here to inflict punishment or to explain the rules of the town.¡±


    ¡°That is a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°Further more when I come down to do just that I was insulted and had lightning shot at me.¡±


    ¡°I can see how that would be¡­¡±


    ¡°However instead of killing the savage right then I let it go. Managing to talk to one of these damned wizards only to learn that everyone acts on their own. After wasting effort to gather them together I get shouted at, insulted, and had a lightning serpent shot at me.


    Then crude fire ball like attacks from the same person. I finally give him a choice between a painless death or a painful one. After all of that I was now able to start my fun and then you came and took it away.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°So no I do not want to grab a bight to eat.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I see. I am sorry.¡±


    I smirked. ¡°Are you sorry oh Death God?¡± The ¡®Resident¡¯ just watched me silently. ¡°If you are truly sorry then either bring back my toy or replace him.¡±


    ¡°I am not doing that Kaz.¡± I glared at the ¡®Resident¡¯. [ It¡¯s all his fault to begin with. If someone had just come over and explained things nothing like this would have happened. Then I wouldn¡¯t of had to be subjected to this farce. It would be so much easier to just destroy it¡­ ] I smiled.


    ¡°Well fine if you don¡¯t want to take his place I¡¯ll just have to settle for the building.¡±


    ¡°Kaz wait¡­¡±


    My smile grew bigger. [ To late. ]  Trees sprouted  through out the building creating holes and cracks along the walls. As they grew bigger parts of the ceiling fell in. Screaming and panicking could be heard outside the shadow barrier. The shadows slowly dissipated to reveal the scenes around us.


    Wizards were running around in a panic as trees grew all around then. Some of them were unlucky and got impaled by the trees when they shot out of the ground and were screaming in agony. Others were crushed by falling marble and wooden beams. The trees grew destroying everything that was in their way. Vines shot out and started wrapping their way around anything that was higher then the ground. In one case a pitiful Wizard.


    I called forth Green Men to help ¡®evacuate¡¯ the area. The Wizards were trying to run out the door as fast as they could while dodging the debris that came falling down on top of them. The ¡®Resident¡¯ watched in silents as I smiled feeling quite satisfied with what was happening. A root shot out of the ground and grabbed a fleeing Wizard dragging him back and wrapping him up. Crashes, screams, booms, and the feel of nature was starting to make me feel better.


    Glancing up and saw Grisha was still on the stairs watching in horror at the scene below. ¡°Sigh, !@$%%^#   %^^#   *&^@#¡± A Green Man ran up to Grisha and started dragging him down the stairs. He was kicking and screaming as he was drug through the door to safety. [ I guess one should live. ]


    Fog started to fill the area causing the visibility to drop. Clicking, scraping, dragging, screaming, and running could be heard but not seen causing mass hysteria. Some of the remaining Wizards were firing attack magic randomly. Fire balls, water shots, ice beams, and other flashes of light could be seen traveling around in the fog. After a while the screams died down and only one or two moans of agony remained.


    The fog cleared to reveal a scene strait from a horror movie. People where fused to trees earthier through impalement by the branches or rapped in roots and vines. The one Wizard that was drug back by the roots was currently being used as live nutrients. He groaned quietly. Others were smashed by pieces of fallen ceiling. Trails of blood and body parts laid around the room. Walls had been broken down and the roof was gone. It looked like an ancient ruin.


    I smiled in satisfaction. The trees had stopped growing fast and were now back to their normal pace. Vines strung there way across trees, people, and building parts. All in all it looked very much like a rain forest except instead of animals there was death. The ¡®Resident¡¯ just stood not saying a word about what had happened.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Haa, I feel so much better.¡± The ¡®Resident¡¯ turned to look at me. ¡°Well that solves the issue. There will be no more disputes between the Coven and the Wizards.¡± I smiled brightly.


    ¡°¡­ There are no more Wizards.¡±


    ¡°And that means that there are no more disputes. They did come into the town without asking and just up and built a building for them to live while disregarding the rules. Plus I needed to do something after all that mess that I came back to just so that everyone remembers who runs this town. Hopefully they¡¯ll get the message.¡±


    The ¡®Resident¡¯ turned back to the horror movie scene. ¡°¡­ I do not doubt the the message will be conveyed loud and clear.¡±


    ¡°Good. Well now ¡®Resident¡¯ I would like to go get that bite to eat.¡± I strolled across the pools of blood and disembodied limbs making my way out the door. Where Akuji, the twins, and Grisha were standing. ¡°Akuji our business is done unless there was something else¡­¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°Good, well then I am truly sorry for having called you out here for nothing.¡±


    ¡°It is not a problem.¡±


    I smiled and walked away back to the center of town with the resident following behind fading in and out in the sunlight. [ It¡¯s going to be one of those days. ]


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Good news almost all the Characters bio so far are done. So if your interested check it out.  https://localleaderkaz.wordpress.com/charactors/</a>


    Also if you have any questions or comments just post them. I answer then under the comment if it''s not some thing like "What is Kaz?" I wont answer that one. Thank you for reading.


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Can create Green Men and trees


    Redirect Magic


    Violent tendencies...


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Controller of Shadows


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly


    Grisha - Wizard

 Side Story - The Diary Part 2: Dies Natailis Solis Invicti

    The Diary Part 2: Dies Natailis Solis Invicti


    Badru POV


    It had been four days since the little tree spirit started translating the book. Most of the pages have been about every day life in the forest while occasionally going into towns when he came across them. There has been no significant people or any surprising new facts. Other than the fact that the pages when he interacted with people was almost like it was written as he experienced it. I also found out that this was written around the time I took over the Egyptian scroll library for my goddess.


    I picked up the next translated paper hoping to get some answers to my questions and if not at least it would be interesting to read from his view point.


    Its cold. Snow shined on the ground everywhere. The town was quiet. Nothing moved, almost like a ghost town. I shut the door of the barn I had borrowed for the night. I had been traveling when a snow storm struck. Luckily I had been only a mile from this town.


    I looked around. The town was small and almost completely isolated from the outside world. It was set right in the heart of a forest. There was only one road in and one road out, nothing that ran from one side of the forest to the other. However that is ok because I do not travel by the human roads.


    A soft click, came from behind me. ¡°Who are you?¡± asked a small curious voice. I closed my eyes. I had planned to be out of here before anyone woke up. Turning around I saw a little kid that looked to be about six years old. He wore a fleece jacket and working pants, both of them were worn and covered in paint.


    I smiled. I wanted to just walk away but I could feel people watching me now, and knew it would be a fight to leave. So with a resigned feeling I said "I am Nobody. Who are you?¡° To give one¡¯s name was to give power to them. To be specific, a power over you.


    "I¡¯m Chris. Where did you come from? I did not see you come in on the road, and there is no other way in. The forest around us is covered with cliffs, rivers, and wild animals. So how did you get here?¡± He had tilted his head just a bit when he had asked. As if to see if he could figure it out himself.


    "I walked here from the south. Following the path from there I came here.¡° Something wasn¡¯t quite right. This child was no child and this town felt alive. However it was still quiet and the only things moving here were me and the child. I took a deep breath trying to see if I could smell anything.


    "From the south, and you followed the path? That is strange. I did not see you at the gate yesterday. How did you get to this place?¡± Chris frowned and looked a little confused as if this was not going the way he wanted. His eyes were intently focused on mine as if he was trying to read my mind.


    I felt the eyes come closer like a predator closing in on prey. I glanced around. This is not going very well. ¡°Well I walked right through that gate, you must have missed me. I came here after the storm started. There did not seem to be anyone around, so I stayed in the barn for the night. If it is yours then I am sorry.¡±


    The boy¡¯s eyes hardened and the frown deepened just a bit. The expression aged him by years. He knew that I was not telling the full truth, but he did  not know what it was I wasn¡¯t telling him. ¡°There is no way you could have come by the path. Even if there wasn¡¯t a snow storm. Nor could you have come through the forest alive. You should not be here. What are you, because you can not be human?¡±


    The snow about a meter from me started to shift around. Ahhh. So that was it. Magic. I had been sensing magic. It was everywhere. I forced the smile to stay on my face. So the truth then. ¡°I am sorry to disturb your town. You are right I am not human. I was walking through the forest, headed further North, when the storm hit. I sought shelter here, because it was the closest thing around.¡±


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    The answer seemed to satisfy him. He went back to having a curious  look on his face, and looking only six again. ¡°Why are you traveling North? Are you on a quest?¡±


    Despite myself I burst out laughing. A quest? Me? That is absurd. ¡°No, I am not on a quest. I am just traveling north. I have no place to live and decided that it would be better to travel. So I picked a direction and went.¡±


    The not boy boy looked at me with a sad expression. ¡°Would you like to live here for a while? There are very few in this town. I am sure you can feel calm and safe here. I would of course let you live in a house, not have you sleep in a barn.¡±


    I was surprised by the offer. I had not settled down anywhere in quite a long time. It would be good to rest a little before I started heading to ¡®Athens¡¯ again. ¡°If you do not mind, I would love to stay a little while. However I do not think I will stay for long. Is that ok?¡±


    "Yes, that is fine. My name is Sol. My I know yours?¡° Sol released the magic that he was holding onto. The snow around me settled, and the eyes I had been feeling went away. Interesting.


    "It¡¯s nice to meet you Sol. You can call me Xylon.¡± I smiled. It was a name I would not give lightly because it was close to my true one. Well if translated.


    Sol frowned. ¡°Xylon?¡­ As in a dryad?¡­ No more like Physis?¡± I frowned. How had he come to that? Sol Nodded to himself. ¡°I see how you got here. Please come this way.¡± Following behind him we made our way to the center of the town. ¡°Xylon, my full name is Sol Invictus. If possible I would like you to join me for Dies Natalis Solis Invicti.¡±


    ¡°So you are the Unconquered Sun that I hear so much about.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, Well I guess. However it is merely a formality for the humans. They have taken it upon themselves to call me that. I wish to have you join me in Rome for the festival. If you do not mind.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, that would be interesting. The towns I have passed by have all said that it was an amazing festival to behold. However how will we get there in such short notice?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that is no problem we can just use this.¡± We walked to a wall that had a magic circle written on it. Tomorrow I¡¯ll activate this and we will be there, but for now please enjoy the town.¡±


    I set the paper down amazed. This talked about Sol Invictus the sun of the original son god. However if I remember correctly this is also the one that later became called Kris Kringle, Yule figure, Saint Nicholas, and Santa Clause. I had no idea that he really existed! What a surprise! Not only that Kaz got to celebrate Dies Natalis Solis Invicti with him! The original celebration of the Winter Solstice!


    I reread the page to make sure that I didn¡¯t miss anything. What caught my attention was that he called himself ¡®Xylon¡¯ the greek name for ¡®of the forest¡¯. That was the first time that Kaz had given a name that hinted at his identity¡­ Physis if I¡¯m not mistaken was the study of Nature. Taking the time period into about it should be about Nature its self as pose to the study of. So Sol Invicti called Kaz Nature? As in Nature its self? That is a bit confusing if only there was more information. [ Sigh, I¡¯ll ask him when he comes back. ]


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Thanks for reading. Please vote for me in the Christmas contest.

 Chapter 28 : Meeting With Arrogance

    Meeting With Arrogance


    The ¡®Resident¡¯ and I were sitting down eating breakfast at a cafe called Veiled Sights on the north side of town. After all that work this morning breakfast tasted even better than usual. We sat quietly as we ate. Looking out the window you could see dark clouds rolling in and that the wind was picking up.


    ¡°Kaz,¡± I tore may gaze from the clouds. ¡°I think that it would be a good idea to hold some kind of event this week.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Well it has been a very stress filled month. With the Zombies rising from the dead, the mass merd deaths, town being isolated, and you leaving for a week just to name a few.¡±


    ¡°True¡­¡±


    ¡°So to let the citizens release some stress why don¡¯t you hold an event.¡±


    ¡°Hm, well I could move the Skull Ball tournament up to the end of this week.¡±


    ¡°That is good. The tournament should take everyones mind off of things for a little while and lessen the tension in town.¡±


    ¡°Sigh, thats all good but that just adds more work for me to do. Well the tournament isn¡¯t to hard I guess. Ah yes, ¡®Resident¡¯ I want you to be at the meeting that will be happening around two today.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Understood.¡±


    ¡°Good, I have something to do now so I¡¯ll see you then.¡± I pulled out some money and laid it on the table for the bill and walked outside leaving the ¡®Resident¡¯ alone. Once outside I could feel the wind whipping around showing just how big of a storm was coming in. I headed down to the Town Hall. It was almost time to meet with the head of the Hidden City.


    When I made it to the Town Hall I noticed that the hole in the ground was now closed up leaving no trace that it was ever there. I walked in to be greeted by Lisa.


    ¡°Jim is waiting for you in your office.¡±


    ¡°Excellent, Lisa can you do me a favor and arrange for a meeting at two pm today?¡±


    ¡°Will do. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± As she turned back to her work I headed down to my office.


    Jim sat in a chair in front of my desk going through some of my documents with the curtain drawn to block out the light. Standing next to him was a woman dressed very similarly to Jim with head to toe tight fitting black cloths. The only things that weren¡¯t covered were half of her hands, her eyes, and ears. [ Sigh¡­ ] I shut the door to get his attention. ¡°Morning Jim, how is it going?¡±


    Jim set down the papers he was reading making his nails click on the desk. ¡°Better now that the hole is closed.¡± I forced a professional smile onto my face as I sat down. [ This will be annoying. ]


    ¡°Well that¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure. However why was there a hole there in the first place? This should of never happened. I¡¯m sure that we had made a deal that something like this would never occur.¡± My face twitched slightly at his words.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Jim there was nothing I could due about it until now.¡±


    ¡°While I¡¯m sure that your apology is sincere. It will not fix anything or roll back time. Now I am happy that you have fixed the hole that aloud the Others to view my home, however that does not change the fact that it was viewed in the first place.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I did cover it up in the announcements yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, that pathetic excuse on the radio. If I remember correctly it was something about it being an illusion. Right so the people that are now missing or dead are because it was an illusion, and that bridge that was built across the hole was just a mistake because the hole was an illusion the entire time. Really I don¡¯t see why you thought something like that would work. No one in their right mind would buy that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that the citizens will let it go since so many things were going on that week while I was gone.¡±


    ¡°And if they don¡¯t? Another town located under their own feet is something I would pay attention to. Why wouldn¡¯t they? Do tell.¡±


    ¡°Sigh, listen Jim. The people in Shadow Wood hold little to no interested in things outside of their own community. Unless it directly effects them. Isn¡¯t it the same for the Hidden City?¡± Jim¡¯s frown depend when I said this.


    ¡°The Hidden City often pays attention to things outside of its walls, especially in Shadow Wood. Do you not often seek us out to preform these little missions of yours.¡±


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    I held onto the bridge of my nose in annoyance. ¡°Yes, but that is related to you. If you did not get missions that involved things outside of the Hidden City would you pay attention?¡±


    Jim¡¯s eyes dilated as he glared. ¡°¡­ No¡­¡±


    ¡°That is exactly why saying that it is an illusion will work. None of the people here get missions like you. As such they hold little to no interest in such things. If it comes up in the meeting today it will be dealt with accordingly.¡±


    ¡°I hope so¡­ Zara will be the one going to meetings from now on. She will also be the one that will take over for me in the Hidden City.¡± The woman¡¯s, next to Jim, pointed grey ears twitched at those words. ¡°As such she will be coming up more often to get an understanding of how things work. If there are any assignments for my people just give it to her. She will also be the one to give reports in from now on.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I see. Is it really time for you to be retiring with all the things that are going on?¡±


    ¡°All the stuff that is going on now is the reason I am retiring. Anyways it is important to change officers when times are difficult to show that they can adapt quickly. It is also a part of our customs. Now introduce yourself.¡±


    ¡°¡­Good morning, I am Zara of the Camazotz tribe it is a pleasure to meet you.¡± Zara bowed when she said this.


    ¡°Good. Now I will be leaving Zara here for the rest of the day. Good day.¡± Jim walked out the door without looking back completely ignoring the trouble that he is causing. Zara just stood in front of my desk looking at me as if waiting for some kind of order or explanation.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ Can you do paperwork?¡±


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Can create Green Men and trees


    Redirect Magic


    Violent tendencies...


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Controller of Shadows


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Inta - Ali Baba''s daughter


    Usor - Ali Baba''s Son


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly


    Grisha - Wizard


    Only survivor of the wizard massacre


    Jim - Old Leader of Hidden City


    Zara - a Caazotz


    New Leader of the Hidden City

 Chapter 29 : For I Am Seth!

    For I Am Seth!


    Seth POV


    I awoke with the sun like every other morning. Changing into my running cloths I went out into the forest for a jog. [ Ah the fresh smell of pine wood in the morning. ] My eyes flashed when a hare ran away from the noise I was making. I suppressed the urge to chase it. The forest was dense and disorienting showing that Kaz had returned. I froze.


    ¡°I smell blood.¡± I breathed in deeply trying to trace the scent. Blood wasn¡¯t an uncommon thing to smell in this town but this scent was so thick I could almost taste the metallic tinge. I followed the sent to a building that was built not five days ago now reduced to rubble. Akuji, two witches, and an unknown man stood outside staring at it. I walked up to Akuji.


    ¡°I smell blood.¡± I stated to get answers as quick as possible.


    ¡°¡­ I would be surprised if you didn¡¯t.¡± Akuji said not even glancing in my direction.


    ¡°What happened here?¡± He turned his head to look up at me with still silver eyes. His silver hair was fluffed up in random directions giving off the impression of bed head. [ So cute just like a rabbit. A silver fluffy Rabbit. ]


    ¡°Punishment?¡± I blinked in surprise making me forget the image of a silver rabbit hopping through a field looking for food.


    ¡°Punishment doesn¡¯t smell of blood.¡± Hunt and war smell of blood.


    ¡°This one does.¡± Why would punishment smell of blood. I studied Akuji a bit closer and noticed a layer of cold sweat making me frown. I turned back to the building that gave off that metallic iron smell. [ Lets just go see. ]


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go in there.¡± Akuji stated as I walked to the building. The smell hung in the air even thicker the closer I got. Walking through the door the smell almost gaged me. It was like a mist that hung in the air along with the scent of fear. I blinked the tears out of my eyes and covered my nose and mouth so I could concentrate. Rustling sounds drew my attention. A small green and brown tree thing was walking on roots near me. I stared trying to get my eyes to focus on the thing it was pulling behind it.


    [ Is that a leg!! ] I watched as it drug the lag over to the base of a tree and started mashing it up to use as fertilizer. Glancing around I saw more of these small creatures doing the same thing in front of other trees. Very slowly I backed out of the building with my hair standing on end. Outside the building I just stared trying to process what I saw. [ Has Kaz been told of this yet? ]


    I walked back to Akuji shaking a little from what was inside. ¡°Have seen what was in there?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Akuji shook his head. ¡°There is no need to see. I was here the entire time the ¡®punishment¡¯ was being dealt. It is better if I do not see the scene that those sounds belong to.¡±


    ¡°Who did this? We need to inform Kaz immediately.¡± Akuji shook his head.


    ¡°The Mayor is the one who did this.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± [ Kaz did this?! ] I was stund.


    ¡°It was ¡®punishment¡¯ to those who were apposed to him in a violent manor.¡± I stood rooted to the ground. My instincts going wild telling me to go back and protect the pack.


    ¡°Really?¡± My voice came out as a growl showing my agitation. I have to go back. ¡°I will head back now.¡± Akuji nodded to me as I ran my way back to my den making small animals scatter in fright. I need to inform the pack. This is not good news. I howled telling the others to gather. As I ran multiply howls responded to mine. [ Good. ] I kept running until I reached the edge of the forest. Once there I stopped and tried to catch my breath and tidying my appearance. It wouldn¡¯t be good if I walked in out of breath and messy. That would just make everyone panic.


    As I walked into my den a chirp caught my attention. Ching my wife came rubbing up against me. I smiled and pet Ching. She always calmed me down. She started perring and draped herself over my shoulders. I kept petting her as I walked further in. I opened the door on my left and  walked in. Men, woman, and children were all sitting quietly on the floor waiting. Pillows were scattered everywhere to make it more comfortable. Some were in wolf form laying down. Smiling I sat down facing them.


    ¡°Morning everyone I have some bad news. Kaz has gone and killed a bunch of people on the other side of the forest today.¡± Some of the pack shifted uncomfortable but all remained quite waiting for me to finish. ¡°Now I heard that there was a reason for what he did but I want us to all remain on high alert right now. No one is to go out alone. Understood?¡± Perfect silence answered. ¡°Good. Other than that please go on as normal. And if you see Kaz inform me or Ching immediately. Do not approach, talk, or even show yourself to him.¡± Ching flexed her claws at the news. I just patted her signaling for her to wait.


    ¡°Curt, Issa, and Flora you are on watch first after four hours switch with someone else.¡± The three nodded. ¡°That is all. Dismissed.¡± I stood up and walked out of the room and deeper into the den. Ching was no longer perring.  I walked to a door written with the words Seth and Ching on it. Opening up reviled a cozy little home with a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom. I walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast. Ching hoped onto the counter.


    ¡°Meow.¡± I frowned.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Ching if you want to talk transform. You know I can¡¯t understand you when your like that.¡± Ching flicked her tail unhappily. Slowly glittery red mist gathered around her covering her from view. I turned back to breakfast cracking eggs into the pan to cook.


    ¡°I asked what time it the meeting today?¡± A silky voice asked from beside me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m going with you.¡± With a start I turned towards Ching. She sat on the counter completely nude with a smug smile on her face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sit on the counter like that. I have to clean it now. It¡¯s dirty to set food where people rub themselves on.¡±


    ¡°Gasp, are you calling your wife dirty?¡± Ching asked in fake hurt. ¡°I am very clean you know. I do groom myself diligently.¡±


    ¡°Stop it Ching. You know what I mean. Why do you want to come to the meeting anyways? Its always boring.¡± [ Though this time will probably be different. ]


    ¡°Why Seth, I just want to come see what your meetings are like. Can¡¯t I?¡± She tilted her head innocently and had big watery eyes.


    ¡°O-Of course you can but it¡¯s only supposed to be one person per group. So I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be aloud in.¡±


    ¡°What if I was a cat?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll let in a cat either.¡± Ching frowned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t those Vamps get to bring in their cats. So doesn¡¯t this mean I can come?¡± She glared at me fiercely. ¡°It sounds to me like you don¡¯t want me to go.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Ching and I glared at each other but in the end I glanced away first. [ Damn ] ¡°Sigh, I understand. But you must stay in cat form ok. You understand right? No changing into a human.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I won¡¯t change into a human while at the meeting. I¡¯ll be the perrrfect little cat.¡± She smiled sweetly while I turned back to making breakfast. [ I hope this is going to go well. ]


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Can create Green Men and trees


    Redirect Magic


    Violent tendencies...


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Controller of Shadows


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Inta is her daughter


    Usor is her son


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Ching is his Wife


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly


    Grisha - Wizard


    Only survivor of the wizard massacre


    Jim - Old Leader of Hidden City


    Zara - a Caazotz


    New Leader of the Hidden City

 Chapter 30 : Moving Forward Without Information

    Moving Forward Without Information


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± I placed the pen down and stretched my arms. Moving the Skull Ball Tournament to the end of this week was taxing and required a lot of logistics. I glanced at Zara who was reading some documents in the corner of the room. ¡°Zara it¡¯s time for the meeting with the Counsel.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Of course.¡± She placed the documents down and followed me out the door. The meeting this time would probably be the most annoying one so far. [ Really don¡¯t want to go. ]


    I opened the door and then stopped. ¡°Zara, your seat will be on the exact opposite side of mine.¡± She nodded as we walked in. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Taking my seat I looked up to see everyone watching me in silence. The room had more people in it than normal.  ¡°¡­ Thank you for coming to this meeting. I would like to start by saying that Mr. Jim will be retiring and Miss. Zara will be taking his place. Please get along with her as this is her first meeting.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Zara nodded her head in greeting to the Counsel members.


    ¡°Right, now I would like to go over a few thing during this meeting. First the hole has been filled up and I would like all of you to help by telling anyone who asks about it that it was an illusion. Don¡¯t get to detailed as it will help to mask the lie. Any questions?¡± The room was dead quite. Several people were sitting like statues refusing to blink. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s wrong?¡± Everyone was silent. ¡°Speak.¡±


    The gargoyle shifted uncomfortably under my gaze. ¡°Ahem, well¡­¡± He stopped looking unsure of how to continue.


    ¡°The Counsel heard about the incident this morning Master Kaz.¡± Akuji coldly stated. ¡°When they did they asked to see the scene to assess the situation themselves. So I showed them.¡± Several of the Counsel members¡¯ faces paled as they remembered the scene.


    ¡°Pffft, I see. Well it is nothing special. I mealy extracted punishment for the rules that they broke. I was going to bring it up later in on.¡±


    ¡°M-My I hear the rules that were broken?¡± The Fae asked.


    I smiled. ¡°Why certainly. First, they built a building without going through the proper procedures. Second, they started a conflict with the Witch Coven. Third, they insulted and attacked me. Multiple times.¡±


    ¡°I-I see¡­¡±


    ¡°Well this situation wouldn¡¯t have occurred in the first place if the Wizards were handled properly when they arrived. I also had to find out about them from Miss. Mori as none of you deemed it worthy of me knowing a disagreement of this scale was happening. Not that it changes anything now. However I do hope you keep in mind that this could happen to any of you should you brake the rules like the Wizards did.¡± I smiled sweetly causing a few of the council members to flinch.


    ¡°Any other questions about this matter before I continue?¡± Everyone stayed silent. ¡°Good then lets move on. I have asked someone to go and investigate the Human¡¯s Sanctuary that was built. News about it should arrive tonight. However I would like your thoughts about it.¡±


    ¡°I see no reason why this Sanctuary is so important.¡± The Vampire stated in a soft voice.


    ¡°Well it interests me how they are able to keep the Zombies at bay. Hopefully we will be able to get some answers. If it goes well they might even have a way to get rid of them.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t the Zombies Immortal?¡± Asked Seth who had a calico cat draped across his shoulders. [ That¡¯s an interesting pair¡­ ]


    ¡°For the most part about one in five are immortal. So I¡¯m hoping that they know how to tell them apart.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry this information comes from a very reliable source.¡±


    ¡°I see. My I know who it was?¡± The gargoyle asked as he rolled a couple of stones in his hand.


    ¡°World renowned Alchemist Nicholas Flamel.¡± Feeling great discomfort when I answered the question especially at that


    ¡®world renowned¡¯ part.


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± A couple of people shouted in surprise.


    [ Sigh¡­ ] ¡°The information was told to me while I was on vacation.¡±


    ¡°I-I see, well thats good to know.¡± The rocks that were in the gargoyle¡¯s hands were now nothing but dust.


    ¡°If that is so then we can form teams to go out and destroy the normal Zombies. It doesn¡¯t matter if 20% of them are immortal.¡± Said the vampire.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how this is a good idea.¡± The protest came from the fae.


    ¡°Nonsense my dear. It is a perfect idea. Right now we have the Court of Life breathing down our backs. If we send people out to hunt down the non-immortal ones then we can lessen their suspicion on us. We will just have to see who would like to take on the job.¡± The Vampire sipped from her wine glass.


    ¡°But Nox its still to dangerous. Even if you forget the fact that the Zombies are all over the world now and not only in this area how are we to handle the immortal Zombies when they come? It seems to be an impossible task.¡± The fae questioned.


    ¡°Sigh, really now. For now we can just have the teams run away from the ones that are immortal. Plus it takes time for the Zombies to regenerate. If done correctly the team will be able to get away in time. As for it being all over the world we could just have the  Coven set up rotating portals.¡± Nox slid her finger along the rim of her glass.


    ¡°¡­ I see no issue with setting up rotating portals for people to use however there will be limitations. For one when the portal is set up it will be made so that no dead can enter that means that the Vampires can not go through. Isn¡¯t this a bit to convenient for your people?¡± Akuji sated with a stony face.


    ¡°Oh my, I didn¡¯t think of that. Well it looks like we will not be able to help out due to unprecedented circumstances. It will be unfortunate but I see nothing that my people can do to counter this.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean unfortunate? You are planning for this aren¡¯t you leach?!¡± Seth growled in irritation.


    ¡°How rude mutt. It is not my plan but a physical incapability to due what will be required.¡±


    ¡°Grrrr¡­¡±


    ¡°Now, now dear. Leave the walking fossil alone. We all know that those creatures have no since of honor.¡± The calico cat slowly transformed into a beautiful woman that was sitting on Seth¡¯s lap.


    ¡°Ching!¡± Seth looked horrified at his nude wife.


    ¡°How indecent.¡± Nox frowned while watching Ching. ¡°I had no idea that  half-breeds where aloud to attend meetings.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Oh ho, well maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m just special.¡±


    ¡°Special indeed.¡±


    ¡°Ahem, getting back on topic I can see how having teams to go out and exterminate the non-immortal Zombies is a good idea. However how should it be set up?¡± The fea cut in.


    ¡°¡­ How about we have one team from each clan here. It would be a nice balance then so that we all share responsibility.¡± Suggested the gargoyle.


    ¡°That¡¯s an excellent idea. However I do believe that we Vampires will be sitting this one out.¡±


    ¡°Oh I didn¡¯t know that Nosferatu where afraid of the undead. Is it some sort of self loathing or complex that your species carry?¡± Ching asked with slitted eyes and a wide smile.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Nox set  her drink down and glared at Ching.


    ¡°Did you not hear me? I asked if you were afraid to face your undead cousins in battle. It is only fair I suppose. They are very similar to yourself. It would be like killing a brother. Wouldn¡¯t is?¡± Seth watched his wife in horror as she spoke.


    ¡°Ching sto¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, so that festering excuse of an undead creature is like a brother to me, is it? My, my what a thing to say. Those brainless walking masses of meat have nothing in common with my people.¡±Nox¡¯s voice was dark.


    ¡°Pfft, if you say so.¡± Ching rolled her eyes. ¡°Seth and I will have a group ready by the end of the day.¡± Nox was shaking in anger.


    ¡°¡­ I will also have a group ready by then.¡± Announced the fae.


    ¡°As will I.¡± Confirmed the gargoyle.


    ¡°I will have to talk with Master before accepting.¡± Zara lightly said.


    ¡°¡­¡± Akuji turned to me. ¡°I will have the twins set up two rotating portals near the existing one. As well as have a group ready. However I believe that an announcement should be made to the citizens to see if there are any volunteers as well. It would be better to have as many people as possible. Also I think that there should be between five and seven people per team.¡±


    ¡°Sigh, I will make the announcement. Even though this was all decided before we got any decent information.¡± I looked around the table. ¡°¡®Resident¡¯ please form a group as well.¡±


    A figure flicked into existence in the corner of the room making several people jump. ¡°As you wish. I will see what I can do.¡±


    ¡°Make sure to get Mori to help out. I¡¯m sure that here people would love this. It would give them an excuse to play.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I understand.¡± The figure flicked back out of sight.


    ¡°Now I do declare this meeting to an end. Unless there was anything else.¡± Everyone remained silent. ¡°Good. Well then I will see you at a later date. Please have your teams ready by tomorrow.¡± With that I stood and left the room. Now off to do some announcements.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Character List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Can create Green Men and trees


    Redirect Magic


    Violent tendencies...


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Controller of Shadows


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Inta is her daughter


    Usor is her son


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Ching is his Wife


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly


    Grisha - Wizard


    Only survivor of the wizard massacre


    Jim - Old Leader of Hidden City


    Zara''s Master


    Zara - a Caazotz


    New Leader of the Hidden City


    Nox - Vampire Leader


    Member of the Counsel

 Chapter 31: Only 1 In 5

    Only 1 In 5


    ¡°Hello Citizens of Shadow Wood. I have a couple of announcements to go through today. However first a warning. The building that was built against the wall is no more. That area is now a restricted zone. If you go into the building your lives are forfeit. You have been warned.


    Now on to some happier news. Due to all the ¡®events¡¯ that have occurred recently we have decided to move the Skull Ball Tournament up to this weekend. It will be held all day Saturday and Sunday with the final two teams facing off on Sunday evening. Those who wish to put up stands and sell wears please come to the Town Hall to register and pick locations.


    Please remember that this is a friendly tournament and those that brake the rules will be punished. The rules are as follows: No sabotage of equipment or stands, espionage is only acceptable until the tournament begins, all forms of hypnosis is banned, no personal equipment is allowed it will be provided at the stadium by staff members, curses are not to be cased at least a day before the tournament all the way until it is over, and lastly there are to be no intentional murders.


    The Necromancer will be there to help when someone does die but all intentional murders are banned. This is not the time to go and kill your enemy as you will be subjected to the tournament punishment and have to pay the revival fees. If you do feel the need to destroy them please wait until after the tournament like the rest of us. The rest of the rules will be posted on the bulletin board the day of the tournament, and it will also be stated before the matches. More information will be released later in the week. Look forward to it.


    Lastly new information was received today about the Zombie horde. Not all of the Zombies are in fact immortal! Only about one out of five are. This means that the other four will die when you destroy them instead of regenerating. With this new information it was decided that teams of around five people will be sent out to go clean up the area. These teams will go out and patrol around destroying as many Zombies they can.


    If you are interested in volunteering please meet at the Town Hall tomorrow morning. There will be a briefing and then forming of teams. We are waiting for your arrival.


    Your Local Leader


    Kaz¡±


    Leaning back in my chair, I thought about who I should have as the referee this year. ¡°Sigh..¡± [ Let¡¯s have K¨ªgy¨® do it. ] Slamming the legs of the chair back down I walked through the door of my office. Lisa was sitting at her desk making a list for the Skull Ball Tournament. ¡°Lisa, I¡¯m heading out for a while.¡± She held her hand up in acknowledgement without taking her eyes from her work.


    I walked down the sidewalk headed to the eastern part of town. If you were to compare this town to human ones you could say that this was the ¡®sketchy¡¯ part of town. Roads weren¡¯t as well kept, the buildings were coated in graffiti, and broken or boarded windows  could be seen on almost every house. It gave off all the signs of a dangerous area to be avoided.


    However if you knew a little bit about this town you would realize that this was just caused by kids. In fact upon taking a closer look at the graffiti you would see things like: ¡®Blake was here!¡¯ or ¡®Nar loves Kara!¡¯ on the walls. There was also the occasional rune or magic circle. You would also realize that the residents of this part of town can¡¯t be bothered to fix or clean the buildings. As a result it ended up becoming ¡®that area of town you don¡¯t go to¡¯.


    I walked up to a house on the end of the street that was noticeable different from the others. Yes it still had broken windows and the door was wide open but it was clean. Not a speak of graffiti could be seen anywhere on the house. Walking through the door you could see that the house was empty with layers of dust. I walked through the house heading towards a metal door at the end of a hallway.


    A glowing inscription appeared on the door. ¡®I exist everywhere and at all times. I fade in and out but never vanish. I am your friend and your worst enemy. However if you say one word I¡¯m gone.¡¯ [ Sigh, why is it always a riddle? ]


    ¡°Silence.¡± A latch clicked and the door opened to reveal stairs spiraling down into darkness. Placing on the inner wall I slowly made my way down.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Clara POV


    I was shifting my weight impatiently in the chair. Why can¡¯t class end faster. While drawing circles in my note book I sighed and laid my head on the desk. Grandma said that I have to live with her for a while because Kaz was going on vacation and wouldn¡¯t be here. But can someone go on vacation right now? I mean wouldn¡¯t they die like everyone else? This is the only safe place, right?


    Images of my time in the forest flashed before my eyes. Mommy with here beautiful moss green hair and eyes pulling me through the forest as we ran. ¡°Run Clara. Quickly.¡± Blood flowing down her arm as we ran. ¡°But Daddy is¡­¡± ¡°Daddy is fine. He will meet up with us later.¡± I could hear crashes and screams coming from behind me. Whipping my eyes I tried to focus on the path in front of me. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Mommy fell and was being pulled off to the side. ¡°Mommy!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine Clara. Just run to town. You¡¯ll be safe there.¡± She let go of my hand while smiling. ¡°Go Clara I will see you there.¡± Her hands were leaving claw marks on the ground as she was being drug back. ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Clara! You will run to town now!¡± Her face grew angry. On instinct I began running.


    Trees and rocks flashed past me as I ran as fast as I could to town. Reaching the edge of the forest I saw the town. [ Now I can meet up with Mommy and Daddy again! ] Running to the town I froze. Fire. There was fire and screaming everywhere. Watching I saw a woman running bare foot from people behind her. ¡°Ah!¡± With a scream she fell onto the ground with her foot bleeding. ¡°Nooo!¡± The people behind her jumped on her and began ripping her to shreds. ¡°Nooo! Help me! Whaaa!¡±


    The people swarmed her. One of them pulled off her arm and fought with others ripping it into pieces as they ate it. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± The woman¡¯s face turned to me. I watched tears and blood fall down from her eyes. ¡°He¡­lp¡­¡± One of the people froze and turned in my direction. Our eyes locked. ¡°Gruragh!¡± More eyes turned to face me. Then they run in my direction. With a start I ran as fast as I could to town.


    While running through the ally ways I somehow lost them. Crouching I tried to catch my breath. Hearing a sound behind me I darted through the door beside me. It was dark and quite. Locking the door I waited for my eyes to adjust. The room was a kitchen. A large sink, several stoves, and many cabinets filled it. Looking around I saw lots of fruit and vegetables on the floor. Glancing over to the corner of the room I saw a metal door standing open giving off cold air. Slowly I made my way towards it dodging the stuff scattered all over the floor.


    Once in front of it I looked inside to see a large man eating something. Trying to get a better view I bumped into the door making it creak. Whipping his head this way he spotted me. In his hand was a little boy missing several pieces of flesh. ¡°Ah¡­¡±Grabbing the door I slammed it shut and locked it. Banging noises could be heard on the other side of the thick metal. I backed up and slid down the wall clutching my legs to my body. Trying to stay as quite as I could. After a while the noise stopped. Tears flowed down my face as I rocked trying to calm down. I spent two days in the building before I heard noise again.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Sitting on the floor eating a carrot I heard the sound of water flowing. With a start I looked over at the sink to see that it was off. Getting up I followed the noise to the door leading to the front of the building.


    ¡°Is this everyone?¡± (?)


    ¡°Yes, no more human are in this town.¡± (?)


    ¡°Did we only need to get the humans?¡±  (?)


    ¡°I guess.¡± (?)


    ¡°Why do we even need to gather Humans?¡± (?)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Why don¡¯t you ask Ceannard when we get back.¡± (?)


    The voices began to fade passed. Glancing back at the room around me I ran outside to the voices. ¡°Please, please wait!¡± Three men turned around at my voice. ¡°Please take me with you.¡± One of them looked at his friend.


    ¡°I thought there where no more humans in this town.¡± (?)


    ¡°Sigh, It seems I was wrong.¡± (?)


    ¡°Come child. We will take you with us.¡± (?)


    I walked up to them and we made our way into the forest on the other side of town. After a while we came upon a group of people huddled together. We walked up to the group.


    ¡°Now if you all could follow me.¡± (?) Walking further into the forest we reached a glowing portal. I tilted my head. Why is there a portal here of all places. ¡°Now please enter the portal after me.¡± (?)


    One of the men walked through the portal. Everyone hesitated until finally someone went in prompting the others to follow. Looking back the way I came I entered the portal. Grass and trees filled my vision. We had entered another forest. However this one felt more deep and ancient. A man walked out of the forest and talked to the three men that brought us here.


    Clearing his throat he spoke. ¡°Everyone, welcome to Shadow Wood. I am sorry to hear about your homes. However we of Shadow Wood hope to provide sanctuary. If you would all follow me I will show you where you will stay.¡±


    Stay? I will be able to stay here? Is is safe? Who is this person? Raising my hand I asked one of my many questions. ¡°Ummm¡­ Mister what¡¯s your name?¡± His mossy green eye fixed themselves on me. Just like Mommy¡¯s. He¡¯s smile brightened his face.


    ¡°My name is Kaz. I¡¯m Mayor of this town. If there are no more questions please follow me.¡± I nodded my head. I am safe. This man spoke no lies. He somehow doesn¡¯t feel human. He smells of trees and earth. Just like home.


    ¡°Clara I know you are bored but please pay attention while in class.¡± I looked up at the instructor. Her long nail was tapping on her desk as she looked at me. ¡°If you have the time to be bored then that means that you already know this subject, no?¡±


    I flinched. ¡°I am sorry I will pay more attention.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± With that she turned back to the bored. [ Sigh, I want to meet Kaz¡­ ]


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Sorry for the lack of updates. I had a run in with life. Which is annoying. Anyway hope you enjoyed chapter 31.


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Can create Green Men and trees


    Redirect Magic


    Violent tendencies...


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Controller of Shadows


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Inta is her daughter


    Usor is her son


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Ching is his Wife


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly


    Grisha - Wizard


    Only survivor of the wizard massacre


    Jim - Old Leader of Hidden City


    Zara''s Master


    Zara - a Caazotz


    New Leader of the Hidden City


    Nox - Vampire Leader


    Member of the Counsel

 Chapter 32: Slithering Caretaker

    Slithering Caretaker


    The hallway at the bottom of the stairs was lined with blue flamed torches. The flames flickered in the wind that fought its way through the underground passages. This was the beginning of Shadow Wood¡¯s underground labyrinth and one of the few ways to get to the Hidden City. It is also maintained by K¨ªgy¨® who I want to be my Skull Ball Tournament Referee.


    I ran my fingers along the stone walls until I found a hidden patch of moss. ¡°Show me where K¨ªgy¨® is.¡± The moss shivered at my touch and quickly grew along the wall of the labyrinth. It grew in the cracks and along the mortar to create an easy to follow line. Smiling I followed the moss through many twists and turns until I reached a hidden door. ¡°Thank you.¡± The moss shivered but otherwise stayed sill at my words.


    Looking around the hallway only to see grey stones with blue torches was distasteful. I looked back at the moss that had left a green stripe along the walls and floor. ¡°Well why don¡¯t you grow a bit more. I¡¯m sure that you could liven this place up a bit.¡± The moss shivered and began to expand into any crack or craves it could find. I smiled as it slowly made the walls greener and more inviting. [ K¨ªgy¨® will hate it. ]


    Words light up on the hidden door. ¡®You saw me where I never was and where I could not be. And yet within that very place, my face you often see. What am I?¡¯ ¡°Sigh a reflection is it?¡± I turned around and walked straight through the wall on the opposite side. It was as if walking through mist. The air changed to be hot and moist as if walking into a sauna. Water dripped down from the ceiling onto stalagmites. The blue flames flickered and sizzled every time a drop hit them casting ominous shadows.


    I walked slowly dodging the many stalactites and stalagmite. A shallow river slowly formed along the pathway the deeper I went. Reaching the edge of the hallway it opened up into a large chamber. Steps carved into the cave walls ended in round door ways. Intricate carvings filled the room which was light with glowing stones of varying colors. The river that had started in the hallway ended in a deep pool in the middle of the chamber. The lights bounced off it scattering it more giving it a kaleidoscope effect.


    ¡°K¨ªgy¨®!¡± The shout echoed through the many rooms bouncing from place to place making it impossible to figure out where it originated from. Slithering could be heard from a passage on the right before the noise scattered.


    ¡°Kazzz.¡± Came a hiss from the top most chamber. A horned snake head could be seen sticking out from the doorway. Its golden eyes locked onto me and its tongue flicking in and out to taste the air.


    ¡°K¨ªgy¨®, how have you been?¡± The head disappeared back through the door when I spoke.


    ¡°Veryy well. Thank youu, and youu?¡± The voice was a bit gravely. As if rocks were sliding across each other.


    ¡°Quite well. I¡¯m sure you heard that I¡¯ve just came back from vacation.¡±


    ¡°Ahhh, Thhats right. Youu were on vacationn.¡± Rummaging could be heard from the room. ¡°Howw was itt?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it was ok. Meet some old friends and an old enemy.¡±


    ¡°Hishishis, of course, of coursse. Anyy vacation youu have would endd up that wayy.¡± K¨ªgy¨® emerged from the room draped in a red and black robe. Black scales could be seen scattered across his skin and his blood red hair more flexible horns than hair.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s quite mean. I have had normal vacations.¡±


    ¡°Hishishis, yesss of coursse. I¡¯m ssorry.¡± K¨ªgy¨® waved his hand saying follow me. ¡°I¡¯m ssure that youu have. Would youu like ssomething to drink?¡±


    ¡°No I¡¯m good.¡±


    ¡°I ssee.¡± We entered a room on the bottom floor. It was decorated like a parlor with a decidedly snake like theme. ¡°Pleasse have a sseat. Noww why have youu come Kazzz?¡±


    ¡°Well how would you like to be the referee for this years Skull Ball Tournament?¡± K¨ªgy¨® raised and eyebrow.


    ¡°Mee? Well that¡¯ss interessting. Issn¡¯t the tournamentt not for anotherr three monthss?¡±


    ¡°Yes well it had to be moved forward. With all that has been happening recently the counsel deiced that it would be a good stress reliever.¡±


    ¡°¡­ And youu chosse me to bee the referee?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I believe that you would be an excellent referee for this year.¡±


    ¡°Sso youu want a rockk tournament?¡± His eyes flashing in amusement.


    ¡°Hahaha, no. I don¡¯t want a rock tournament. Rather I felt it would be best as you do not participate in the tournament and would be able to immediately stop those who violate the rules.¡±


    ¡°Hishishis, well yess I can sstop them quite quicklyy. However theyy would be sstone. I¡¯m ssure that wouldd ruin the gamee. No?¡±


    ¡°No it won¡¯t ruin the game, and it will keep the players in check.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well I ssee no problem beingg the referee for thiss yearss game.¡±


    ¡°Good, it will be held this weekend.¡±


    ¡°Quite ssoon.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s to soon in my opinion. There almost isn¡¯t enough time to get all the work done.¡±


    ¡°Hishishis, I¡¯m ssure you¡¯ll managee.¡±


    ¡°Sigh, well you agreeing to be the ref has made it a hole lot easier.¡±


    ¡°Gladd I could helpp. Wheree will it bee held thiss year?¡±


    ¡°The Tops.¡±


    ¡°Reallyy?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I still have to go see how it¡¯s going but they are the ones that wanted to hold it this year.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I ssee.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this also means that this years tournament will be a bit more entertaining.¡±


    ¡°Hishishis, sso there will bee new ruless?¡±


    ¡°Well, it is still the same set up. Two goals one for each team two miles apart. To score a point the skull needs to make it into the goal. Passing, throwing, snatching, tackling, and kicking are all valid. Same person can¡¯t touch it twice in a row. Use of magic is valid, so is flying and digging. Illusions are valid to a certain extent. Nothing that could lead to death is allowed. Maiming, mortal wounds, weapons, and death are illegal. As are blinding and paralysis of the opponent.¡±


    ¡°Asss alwayss.¡±


    ¡°As for the skull it will be imbued with the different elements. So when it gets a jolt it will change its element. Only three skulls are allowed per game. The winning team will be the one with the most points. And as always there is no out of bounds. Which will no doubt increase the difficulty since it¡¯s at the Tops. Sigh, we might need a barrier this year.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.     ¡°Hishishis, well ssince it¡¯ss at the Topss. Theree will be a lott of platformss.¡±


    ¡°Sigh, yes. Thats why we will probably need a barrier surrounding the field.¡±


    ¡°Welll at leasst it will be interessting.¡±


    ¡°Yes very interesting. Well please come to the Tops at 6 am on Saturday. The tournament will start at 9 am. We can go over the penalties then.¡±


    ¡°Of coursse. Ssee you then Kazz.¡±


    ¡°Tell then.¡± I got up and left the way I came. The hallways that I followed the moss down now looked very old and welcoming. Moss covered the walls and most of the floor. I smiled when I saw small white flowers growing on it. I ran my hand across it giving it more energy as I left. ¡°Don¡¯t you look wonderful.¡± The moss shivered and its growth speed doubled. [ K¨ªgy¨® will lose it when he sees this. ] I lifted my hand off the moss and headed for the exit. [ I should go see the Tops. ]


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Authors note


    Thank you to those who comment, review, and generally read my story. The many spelling mistakes in the story are not going to be fixed... on this sight. I am adapting chapter 1 - 28 into a ebook which will have all of that fixed (as I have an editor thank god). I will post a link to it when it is finished.


    Also the chapters, I am sure you noticed, are going to keep being irregular. My job is off the grid (no internet or electricity) so I can only update when I have internet. I''m sorry. I''ll try to make it so that I can post more than one chapter when I make it into civilization.


    Hope you enjoyed this chapter.


    Character list


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Can create Green Men and trees


    Redirect Magic


    Violent tendencies...


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Controller of Shadows


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Inta is her daughter


    Usor is her son


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Ching is his Wife


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly


    Grisha - Wizard


    Only survivor of the wizard massacre


    Jim - Old Leader of Hidden City


    Zara''s Master


    Zara - a Caazotz


    New Leader of the Hidden City


    Nox - Vampire Leader


    Member of the Counsel


    K¨ªgy¨®- Basilisk


    Keeper of the Labyrinth


    Referee for the Skull Ball Tournament

 Chapter 33: The Top

    The Tops


    Many of the citizens were unable to transform or pretend to be human. As a result places had to be created for them to live such as the Labyrinth, Hidden City, and the Tops just to name a few. The Tops however was one of the more unique places in Shadow Wood for them to live. It was located in a place no one would ever think to look. The sky.


    Creatures that you will never see in town live in Tops. This place was built specifically for the flying type citizens. It consisted of many different platforms all connected by small bridges. This made for treacherous footing if you couldn''t fly. To hide it from the humans it is surrounded by illusions. We also made sure that it wasn¡¯t in any flight zones or there would have been some pretty tragic consequences.


    I glanced around looking for the feather marks that lead to the magic portal to get to Tops. Weaving my way through the allies behind the buildings in the center of town I lost them. Yes I lost the trail that lead to Tops. [ Really¡­ Sigh ] Looking around to make sure that no one was nearby I closed my eyes and imagined Tops. Taking a step forward the air cooled and the wind picked up.


    Opening my eyes I saw that I was on one of the platforms next to an orange tree. [ Why didn¡¯t I do this from the start? ] Shaking my head to clear my thoughts I looked for the bridge that would lead me to one of the main platforms. Trees were usually placed on the outskirts of Tops to work as a barrier against the wind. Finally spotting the way I paled. A thick rope that branched out connecting several other tree platforms lead the way to a larger area.


    [ Sigh, that¡¯s why you take the portal. ] I steadily made my way to the rope. The rope was about 50 cm ( 19¡± ) around getting bigger halfway down where more ropes intersected. [ You can do this. ] Taking a deep breath I hesitantly made my way across the rope. I¡¯m not afraid of heights and even if I did fall nothing would really happen it just made me feel greatly uncomfortable. I much prefer the the ground where I can feel the steady and reliable earth not the playful pranksters wind. ¡°Sigh...¡±


    Thankfully my tight rope performance didn¡¯t last long. Glancing back the way I came I let out a breath of relief. [ Next time I¡¯ll take the portal. ] With that silent promise I moved forward to the center part of Tops. All around you could see buildings built on floating platforms listing around. Some of them had bridges to them while others just had really thick ropes. With every strong gust of wind the ropes would creak ominously.


    I jumped onto a free moving platform that acted like public transport and sat down waiting for it to reach my destination. The hardest part about the public transport would be the fact that it never stops. To use it you have to time it just right and jump on and do the same when you get off. Fortunately there are no walls so you don¡¯t have to worry about jumping into a small opening to get on. However there are no walls so nothing will stop you from falling off the edge. Yes Tops was truly a dangerous and entertaining place.


    Finally I reached the stadium the Skull Ball Tournament will take place in. Taking note of the speed of the platform I jumped off. Walking through the large archway to the stands I gazed out into the Tournament¡¯s field and burst out laughing. [ Truly this years Tournament will be difficult. ] The field consisted of seven platforms made out of see through material. One large one in the center of the stadium. The next two where just above the center one floating at the edge on opposite sides. Just above those and a little off to the side giving it a staggered step like feel are the next to. The last two are the highest of them all with the goals located on them. The way this field was set up made it so that the game would be played all over without being able to tell where the skull was going to go.


    Taking my eyes off of the field I looked at the stands that the specters would sit in. They lined the outer edge of the field while extending above and below making it so that you could see the field from almost any angle. However the bottom and top was still open. This made the wind wipe around the area in strange patterns. The stands where built like old Roman colosseum seats. The stone that made it up had runes carved into it to reduce there weight. The sitting area was decorated with pillows to make the seats confutable. Carvings in the walls and on the steps depicted the brutal Skull Ball games from the past seven years.


    [ There will still need to be a barrier around the field so that the skull doesn¡¯t leave the stadium. ] Looking up I saw the sky begin to darken.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Authors Note


    Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter then the others but I hope you enjoyed it.


    Charetor List


    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Kaz - Mayor of Shadow Wood


    Self proclaimed ''Green Spirit''


    ''Embodiment of forest''


    Past names: Mor, Amke, Raul


    Can create Green Men and trees


    Redirect Magic


    Violent tendencies...


    Terrry - Necromancer


    Cause of the Zombies


    Kaz''s Assistant


    Babysitter


    A Bosh


    ''Resident'' - Lives in a crypt


    Friend of Kaz


    Farries the Dead to the Underworld


    Replacement Mayor


    Door to the Underworld


    Controller of Shadows


    Lisa -  Cat Sidhe


    Kaz''s secretary


    Has a crow familier  named Eitilt


    Ali Baba - Witch


    Twin Sister to Baba Yoga


    ''Alba''


    Inta is her daughter


    Usor is her son


    Baba Yoga - Witch


    Twin Sister to Ali Baba


    ''Bayo''


    Jasmine - Leader of the Water Fae


    Van - In control of the Power Plant


    ....''Human''


    Alchemist


    Dirk - Employees of Power Plant


    Golems (created by Van)


    David Baker - Mayor of Redroad


    Human


    Missing


    Clara - Little girl from National Park


    Living with Kaz


    Wood Elf


    Akuji - Wizard


    Head of Magic clan


    Looks like a little kid


    Kraken Family - 3 in total


    Live in the pond


    From Chaos dimension


    Baby Loves Ice Cream


    Badru - Head of the Library


    Sphinx (Cheetah variety)


    Translating Kaz''s Book


    Seth - Alpha of Werewolf Pack


    Tasked with investigating Zombies


    Loves animals (especially fluffy cats)


    Ching is his Wife


    Constantine Dracul - Lives in a Castle


    In the Court of Life


    Husband to Juliana


    Vampire


    Juliana Ann Dracul - Necromancer


    Terry''s Master


    Wife to Constantine


    Dragon


    Jared Dracul - Son of Constantine and Juliana


    Chasing Viola


    Half Dragon Half Vampire


    Viola Heart - Daughter of the King of the Court of Life


    Being Chased by Jared


    Nicolas Flamel - Alchemist


    1 of the Order of 9


    Immortal?


    Kaz''s Stocker


    Experiment maniac


    Human?


    Mori - Little girl dressed in white


    Terry''s friend


    The Undertaker


    Has a Teddy Bear that walks and talks


    Corey Einar - Elf


    Lives in the Hidden City


    A cross between a Light and dark Elf


    King of Life - King of the Court of Life


    Hates anything that is Undead


    In a feud with the Shadow Assembly


    Grisha - Wizard


    Only survivor of the wizard massacre


    Jim - Old Leader of Hidden City


    Zara''s Master


    Zara - a Caazotz


    New Leader of the Hidden City


    Nox - Vampire Leader


    Member of the Counsel


    K¨ªgy¨®- Basilisk


    Keeper of the Labyrinth


    Referee for the Skull Ball Tournament

 Chapter 34: Report

    I sat at my desk waiting for Corey to report in about the Human Sanctuary. After visiting the Tops I realized that quite a bit of safety measures will be needed before the tournament begins. [ Maybe I can get the Coven to set up a spherical barrier. ]


    A translucent figure flashed into existence in front of my desk. He was dressed completely in black making it easier for him to blend into the night.


    ¡°Report.¡±


    ¡°I have successfully infiltrated the Human ¡®Sanctuary¡¯. However it is not what we thought it would be.¡±


    ¡°Ho, how so?¡±


    ¡°The Humans know nothing about the Zombies.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Then how are they keeping them out?¡±


    ¡°The Humans have dug a trench around the town about six meters deep. When a Zombie comes it falls into the trench and is unable to get back out.¡±


    ¡°I-I see. Do they have a method to deal with the Zombies that get stuck in the trench?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Corey sighed as if he was truly disappointed with the Humans. ¡°They are just letting them pile up in the trench. Eventually the trench will be full enough that the Zombies can cross it, or they will figure out a method to climb out.¡±


    ¡°Sigh, I see. Well it was worth a try.¡± I rubbed my temples in annoyance. [How can the Humans be so stupid?]


    ¡°Corey figure out a way to get the Humans to burn the Zombies in the trench.¡± This should distract the Court of Life if they look over here for the cause of the Zombies. It should also help with reducing the number of Zombies we have to deal with.


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°How is the town set up?¡±


    ¡°It seems to be very different from normal Human towns. There are quite a few people who call themselves ¡®gangs¡¯ in the town. There is no leader. They all fight each other for territories, and there is no system to protect the weak. Truly an unusual town.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, Corey you need to learn more about the Humans.¡±


    ¡°I see no point. The Humans are almost gone now anyway.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, so they are. Well, see if you can meet with the leaders of these gangs and see if you can get them to send out people to hunt the Zombies. Explain that only one in five are immortal. You might have to show them. Make sure to keep the fight in Human standereds.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°If they do not agree leave. They are useless. Those that do agree we will have fight in the areas around their ¡®Sanctuary¡¯. Their activities should give the Court of Life something to look at.¡±


    ¡°As you say.¡±


    ¡°One last thing. Come back before the weekend. We will be holding the skullball tournament. I would like you to act like security.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°I will have my tasks completed in two days.¡±


    ¡°Good. Your dismissed.¡± Corey nodded in respect and flickered out of existence. [Sigh, no new information from the ¡®Sanctuary¡¯ then.] My eyes scanned the room dully. [Sigh, I¡¯ll head off to bed then.] Stretching and standing up I headed back to my house that had been neglected for almost two weeks now.


    <hr>


    Corey POV


    I glanced around the roof to make sure no one had seen me. The tasks Master gave me were very easy compared to normal. [Has Master grown more docile with age?] Walking silently to the edge of the roof I jumped down into an ally.


    The moon illuminated the path as I walked. I watched the Humans scurry around trying hard to be unnoticed as they went about their tasks. Every once and a while a larger group of Humans would pass by shouting and shoving each other around roughly.


    Master told me to talk to the leader of these louder Humans. I trailed behind one of these groups hoping that they would bring me to their base soon. I¡¯ve never been one for crowds. I wove my way through the crowd for around two hours before they walked into a building with a wooden sign nailed into it. The sign was illegible.


    I shook my head at the shoddy craftsmanship, and walked in. The building was a bit run down with graffiti all over the walls. Humans leaned against the walls smoking and playing cards. Staires at the end of the room lead up to the next floor where I assume the more important people stayed.


    ¡°Oi! Who are you?!¡± Shouted a bulky guy with an unusual tattoo of a ¡®moth?¡¯ on his shoulder. Several other guys got up from where they where and began to surround me. I noticed that all of them had a very similar ¡®moth?¡¯ like tattoo somewhere in plain sight.


    ¡°Is a disfigured moth their sign?¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Hey don¡¯t stand there in a daze muttering to yourself!¡± The bulky ¡®moth?¡¯ guy shouted. ¡°Who are you? And what are you doing here?!¡± I tilted my head in confusion. Something was off about this guy.


    ¡°maybe he¡¯s dumb.¡± Another guy to my left suggested.


    ¡°Hehehe, or maybe he¡¯s so scared that he can¡¯t talk.¡± A guy on my right proposed.


    ¡°Be quite!¡± The others looked at the first ¡®moth?¡¯ guy. He turned back to me. ¡°Answer the question.¡±


    [Ah, he is the leader of this pack of Humans.] I fixed my gaze on the ¡®moth?¡¯ guy. ¡°Greetings, my name is Jack. I came on behalf of my master to talk about the resent Zombie problem.¡± I bowed my head slightly in respect to the pack leader.


    The man raised an eyebrow in confusion while the others burst out laughing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this guy?¡± The guy on my left asked inbetween breaths.


    ¡°maybe he hit his head and is crazy.¡± The laughing and comments on my sanity continues while the ¡®moth?¡¯ guy watched me cautiously. I held my eye contact with him so that he knew I was serious.


    ¡°Sigh,¡± he closed his eyes and then glanced at the other guys. ¡°Shut up you ingrates.¡± The surroundings imiditly quieted. ¡°You, come with me.¡± I followed him up the stairs to a nicely furnished room. He gestured for me to sit. ¡°Speak.¡±


    I sat down on the couch. ¡°My Master sent me to help with the Zombies.¡±


    ¡°Ho, and who is your Master?¡± The pack leader asked while squinting his eyes at me.


    ¡°He prefers to remain anonymous.¡±


    ¡°Is that so¡­ Then how are you going to help against the Zombies? As far as I know they are immortal.¡± The pack leader leaned back in his chair.


    ¡°Yes, however only one in five are immortal.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow at this. ¡°Is that so? Can you prove it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Ho.¡±


    ¡°The trench at the edge of the ¡®Sanctuary¡¯ if you set it ablaz it will destroy most of the Zombies in there, and clear it out some so that they won¡¯t be able to climb out.¡± The pack leader looked thoughtful for a moment.


    ¡°This would give immediate results.¡± He muttered. ¡°Ok, lead the way. Let¡¯s see if this information of yours is true or not.¡± He stood up and walked to the stairway. ¡°Oi, guys. Gather some gas and lighters where going to torch the trenches.¡±


    Rsndom cheeres of joy where raised by the Humans downstairs. I walked with the guys to the trenches Humans running to get out of our what as we passed. With great enthusiasm they torched a section of the trenches proving my information about the Zombies to be correct.


    This situation and conversation happened seven more times. Two agreed to help destroy the Zombies, three said they would think about it, 1 said no, and the last one attacked me so I whiped them out.


    As the situation progressed two days have passed. It¡¯s now time to head back to Master and report.

 Chapter 35 : First Day of The Games

    The crowed roared in excitement as the lion killed the man in the center of the colosseum. I sat in the middle of the human mob watching what was considered entertainment. The lion slowly devoured the corpse of the unfortunate gladiator. His shield bent in an unusual way and the spear was split in half.


    Soldiers and animal trainers with whips came out forming a semi-circlearound the lion. She growled as they approached. The trainer¡¯s whipped at her paws and face trying to get her to back off her kill. She growled, hissed, and slashed at the humans, but every time she got close spears would stab at her keeping the lion at bay.


    Slowly the lion backed up into a corridor leading to where the animals where kept. Once behind the doorway a metal gate dropped down locking it out of the arena. Her roars echoed out around the colosseum. A plump richly dressed man, to my upper left, stood up. He was the only one aloud in that area of the stand and had a slightly raised pedestal seat.


    ¡°My loving audience it would appear that the beast has won yet again.¡± Part of the crowed broke out in laughter while another part booed. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that nothing is a match against that vicious creature. But fear not your losses in betting will go to providing more entertaining shows.¡± The humans cheered wildly while others laughed counting slips of paper. ¡°I hope all of you enjoyed the show and will come again.¡±


    The fat announcer left through a privet exit while other humans started filling out the many others. I slowly stood up and followed the humans to the exit. Once in the dark passageway I slipped through a doorway leading to he lower levels of the colosseum. I walked calmly through the maze like passages as if I owned the place. Several rushing servants passed by only giving me a glance.


    The hallways where painted with beautiful colors and extravagant murals. Humans sat in nicely decorated rooms eating or talking with patrons. A couple of them where even having wounds bound. Small grunts of repressed pain would occasionally fill the hallway. Gladiators they called them. Their life or death a show for the crowed. Ridiculous creatures.


    As I walked deeper in the nicely painted walls and well decorated rooms came to an end. Taking another set of stairs down into the underground level, the colosseum opened up into a large room filled with cages. Growls, whimpers, barks, hisses, and quite crying filled the room. This room took up the entire space underneath the arena with a sloped passageway that the animals would walk up.


    The cages in the room where filled with both exotic and local animals. The trainers where feeding some of them while leaving others to starve so they would be sure to act violently when it was their turn to enter the arena. Quite the cruel thing to do just for some entertainment¡­


    I stared up at the ceiling while lying in bed. No matter how many ages passed entertainment will always be the most important thing. No matter the species. It is especially true for the longer lived ones. I stretched my stiff mussels and got out of bed. Today was the first day of the Skull Ball Tournament. Which meant that if nothing goes wrong I wont have any work today. [ Snort, yeah right. ]


    There is no way everything will be fine. If there is one thing this town has proved its that it can¡¯t be left alone.


    ~~~


    (Mori POV)


    I sat swinging my legs over the edge of the roof using Teddy¡¯s arm as a pillow. I¡¯m really excited! Today it the first day of the Skull Ball Tournament. That means that I can play as much as I want. ¡°Teddy, are my team mates already at the Tops?!¡± I asked my bear excitedly.


    Teddy nodded his head and placed a papper in my hand. [ A letter I wonder what it could be. Ah, its the rules¡­ ] ¡°Teddy why would you give me this? You know that I don¡¯t like rules. It ruins all the fun.¡± I hopped up and pulled Teddy down the stairs to my room to get ready. ¡°Now what should I wear. Ah, I know just the thing.¡± Pulling on a pink and black victorian style dress and black tennis shoes I turned to Teddy. ¡°Lets go. We can¡¯t keep the team waiting.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I skipped my way out of my shop dragging Teddy behind me. [ Now where was the transfer gate again? ]


    ~~~


    (Akuji POV)


    I placed the final touches on the sphere shaped protection shield. After being told that I was to create a protection shield to cover the entire field, I immediately came to do just that. Its fortunate that I did otherwise there is no way it would have been done in time.


    ¡°Thankss for the hard work.¡± Hissed a voice from my right.


    ¡°It is no problem K¨ªgy¨®. The shield should last the entire tournament as long as everyone follows the rules.¡± I replied to the Basilisk. An interesting choice in referee this year. However if compared to last years tournament then it is probably for the best.


    ¡°Hisisisis, I can ssee that thiss yearss tournament concernss you. Just relaxss. Nothing will happen.¡± His yellow eyes flashed with amusement.


    ¡°You can only say that because you didn¡¯t come to last years tournament.¡± I stated blandly. ¡°It was a nightmare.¡±


    ¡°Hisisisis, well we will ssee how this year¡¯ss will go. No usse trying to predict the future.¡±


    ¡°It is unusual to see you two talking.¡± Lisa cut in from the side. She held a clip board in one hand and little Clara¡¯s in the other. ¡°Or you talking to anyone for that matter K¨ªgy¨®.¡±


    ¡°Now, that¡¯ss jusst rude.¡± He replied in mock offense.


    ¡°Kaz has not shown up yet?¡± I asked Lisa.


    ¡°Sigh, no not yet. I can only imagine that he is trying to take as much time as possible.¡± Her shoulders dropped in exhaustion.


    ¡°Kaz is coming though, right Akuji!¡± Clara half begged.


    ¡°That¡¯s right little one.¡± I replied. It will be sad that Clara is going to go live with Kaz again after today. She was a very welcome addition to our coven. However the little elf was uncomfortable. ¡°You will soon be able to stay with Kaz again.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this about Kaz?¡± Asked a litter girl as she drug a five foot teddy bear behind her. Her bright smile somehow giving off an eire feel.


    ¡°Ah, Miss Mori. The rest of your team is already here. If you would just sign in then we can get started.¡± Lisa said while handing her the clip board and pen.


    ¡°Lisa! It¡¯s been so long! Are you here to play as well?¡± She asked while jumping up and down.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I¡¯m here to make sure everything runs smoothly. Did you read the rules?¡± Lisa smile looked a bit strained as she watched the teddy bear¡¯s arm get pulled off in the girls jumping. To my surprise it stood up once the arm was ripped off and pulled a piece of paper out of its mouth.


    ¡°Ah, Teddy you lost your arm again. Really you need to keep track of your limbs.¡± Mori reprimanded happily. Clara shuddered and hid behind Lisa. [ Really this girl is as disturbing as always. ] ¡°Yes, I read the rules. Really why are there so many this year?¡± The Teddy shook its head behind the girl and waved the paper. Mori threw the arm at the teddy bear causing it to fly backwards and off the ledge of the platform plummeting to the ground below.


    ¡°¡°¡­¡±¡± We all watched in silence. This marked the tragic end of ¡®Teddy¡¯.


    ¡°So where is my team.¡± Mori asked innocently as if she didn¡¯t just kill off a sentient teddy bear.


    ¡°¡­ Right this way Miss Mori.¡± Lisa lead the girl off towards one of the waiting rooms.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never sseen that girl before. Who iss sshe?¡± asked K¨ªgy¨® his face a little pale.


    ¡°That is Miss Mori. She is the town¡¯s Undertaker.¡± I replied while trying to calm down Clara who was watching dazed at the edge of the platform where the teddy bear flew off.


    ¡°Sshe iss the Undertaker?¡± Asked K¨ªgy¨® in disbelief. ¡°Sshe doesn¡¯t look ass sscary ass the rummerss ssay sshe iss.¡±


    ¡°Looks can be deceiving. Especially in this town.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Hisisiss, no kidding.¡± K¨ªgy¨® laughed nervously. Suddenly Clara jumped in fright.


    ¡°Clara, whats wrong?¡± I turned to look at what she was watching. There a soft plush paw was grabbing onto the edge of the platform. Very slowly the body of the teddy bear appeared over the edge as if in a horror movie. A loud ripping sound traveled to my ears as the teddy bear finally rolled itself onto the platform. One arm half off and the other in its mouth. It sat up and spit out a needle in thread along with some stuffing. Taking the threaded needle in its mouth it stitched the half hanging arm back on. Then shoving the stuffing back into its mouth it stitched its other arm back on.


    Once done it rose to its feet and lumbered up to us. Clara curled up into a little ball and hid behind me. Pulling out a piece of paper it wrote { Who is the Referee this year? }.


    ¡°That would be me Misster Teddy.¡± Answered K¨ªgy¨®.


    The teddy bear nodded and then wrote {Master did not read the rules. Please be carful while doing your job.}. It put the paper away and lumbered off towards it¡¯s master.


    ¡°¡­ I sshall take that advice to heart.¡± Quietly replied K¨ªgy¨®. This years tournament is going to be a disaster.


    Authors note:


    I am to lazy to put the character list at the end of the chapters. From now on if you want a refresher on who all the characters are then go to my website. I also have another book I''m writing on there. Its called ''I Come From The Water''.


    Hope you enjoyed the Chapter. =p


    Website: https://localleaderkaz.wordpress.com/</a>