Darkness and Steel by Martin Parece

Author:Martin Parece
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Martin Parece
Published: 2012-09-20T05:00:00+00:00

17.

As far as anyone in Byrverus could tell, the world was ending. The earthquake, for that is what it appeared to be at first, caused fear and cries from the people within its great white walls. However, when the dead first began to crawl from cemeteries, mausoleums and crypts, the terror really began to set in among the commoners. It was those newly dead that truly inspired the most horror, as their loved ones watched them arise, watched them begin to tear the flesh from the living. Then, the dead came in greater and greater numbers as they spilled from the sewer drains and crawled from the very ground itself, ground which had no known burials.

Rederick saw walking dead in wide ranges of decay and some who were nothing but fleshless skeletons. They ripped the flesh from the bones of the living and tore into their throats.

The soldiers, to their credit, dispatched the first few quickly and efficiently, given hope and strength by their priests. It was easy work, for the most minor of wounds made them drop to the ground unmoving, but they came in greater and greater numbers. Then those that had been recently put back to rest began to rise again, despite the benedictions and holy powers of the priests. The situation quickly became untenable as men began to fall under the horde. One of the great gates gave way. Weakened by the tremors, it simply could not hold under the mass of bodies that pressed against it.

The ferocity of Rederick and his Paladins rallied the troops as they tore through droves of the corpses with both the power of Garod and the strength of steel. Rederick himself lost count as his blade cleaved through walking corpses in scores, but they pushed back even he as his men fell around him. Alongside Mora, he organized his men to make a fighting retreat, dropping back through the city streets step by step in an effort to save as many of the people as possible. But the dead began to appear from everywhere, not just in front, but also from behind and their flanks.

Rederick dispatched runners to the other Paladins, his other captains, in the hopes that they could reunite closer to the center of the city. They would combine all of their forces and make a stand together in the center, around their great temple. Surrounded by hordes of shambling corpses, he had no idea if any of the fleet footed boys made it. He only hoped.

And he prayed. Rederick prayed that the messengers somehow avoided the ranks of foes. He prayed for those soldiers who had already fallen that they may find rest even as they began to rise up again. He prayed for his Paladins that they found the strength to fend off the necromancer’s horde. He begged Garod to keep his muscles moving as they tired in the heavy plate armor, and he begged for the power to save just one more life from this fate.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.