..::Uɴsᴘᴏᴋᴇɴ Bᴏɴᴅ::.. [DᴀʀᴇTᴏDʀᴇᴀᴍ & Iʀᴏɴɪᴄ]

[Ironic]

It doesn't take long for word to spread from town-to-town, Remi thought to herself as she sat on a bar stool swirling the contents in her shot glass around.

"Did you hear about the town of Mylusa? Something wicked is going on with the undead rising. Must be the local academy's fault." A man nearby murdered towards his drinking buddy, who casually chugged his drink before slamming the glass onto the beverage napkin. They must be regulars.

"No way! Better not be coming this way. I'll fuck 'em up!" To signify his threat he would drunkenly portray his flexed biceps, grinning at his attempt to show his power. Remi rolled her eyes before dumping her drink down her gullet, unphased by the bitter taste that resembled rubbing alcohol. Mylusa was her home town, the academy within being her school of choice long ago. She graduated top in class along with another student, who at the time was her rival. After graduation, everyone dispersed to carry on with their lives. Remi was gifted with her bow and arrows, but something also felt missing, like she had more to learn, but there was nothing else to grasp onto.

Knowing that her home town was being attacked didn't sit well with her, but was it her business to attempt to figure out the source of this brewing madness? Perhaps not, but stepping back and watching the fire grow was unnecessary. Letting out an annoyed sighed she would rise from her seat before placing money down for her tab. "Keep the change." She reminded the bar tender before exiting. Mylusa was 30 miles away, which meant that if something wasn't done soon, the undead would spread rapidly. Despite the skies growing darker, she had to make a move tonight.

Would former members of the academy she graduated with help, would they even care to stop the chaos? Remi pondered, but even if they didn't, someone had to help. She couldn't do it alone. Securing her bow in her hand and having a quiver filled with arrows, she would begin her stroll in the darkened forest. She knew of a shortcut that would help get there faster, but more dangerous to venture into. Danger never bothered her, and she welcomed it.

 

[DareToDream]

The peace of the forest glen surrounded Faeren as he paused in his sword exercises to take a breath then another. He’d been pushing himself hard the last few days and the rest would do him good. Taking another look at the wooden post he’d been testing his sword against, he gave a nod at all the marks on it and carried his sword towards the fire blazing near his sleeping roll. The glen had been his home for the last two weeks and he was comfortable in it. He was a bit of a nomad since graduating from the Paladn Academy, going where his sword was needed, but he was taking a much-needed break now. That didn’t mean he relaxed though as he simply used the time to continue to hone the superb skills that had helped him be one of the top students in his class.

Sitting down on the log he’d dragged near the fire when he’d first arrived, he grabbed his rucksack and pulled out his sharpening stone. Settling in for the relaxing task of honing his blade, he tuned out the noises of the forest, led by the calls of birds and the rustle of leaves on the breeze. He had no idea how long he’d been at it when he first heard the noises, his head cocking towards the edge of the glen. Standing, he listened some more and then moved from the fire into the open, his sword at his side. Something or someone was coming towards him, without any concern for the noise they were making. If he didn’t know better, he’d say they were running in panic but that didn’t make sense out here in the forest, not during the light of day.

He didn’t have long to wait as finally a figure broke through the trees, stumbling over their feet and falling to the floor. Faeren stood where he was at first, his steady gaze taking the man in, noting the ratty way his clothes looked and the dirt smeared all over him. He also saw blood, coming from cuts and scrapes, not all of which appeared to come from branches. Finally moving towards him, he reached out and gripped the man’s shoulder, causing him to start. A blood curdling scream ripped from his mouth and he scuttled backwards, cowering.

“It’s ok, stranger. I won’t hurt you” Faeren said, kneeling down in front of him. “You look like you need help. What has you running so frightened?” At first the man didn’t speak, his frightened gaze locked on Faeren but his eyes seeing something else entirely. A snap of the swordsman’s fingers brought the stranger back to reality and he scrambled to his feet. “Run, run!” he said, his voice almost a yell. “They’re coming. Run or die.” That got him a hard look. “Who comes, stranger? What threat is out there?” The words that came next stunned him. Undead, heading for Mylusa. It wasn’t his home town but it was the home of the Academy and that made it almost home. Before he could say another word, the stranger was gone, stumbling off into the woods. Shaking his head, Faeren began to pack up camp. There was no doubt in his mind what his next move was going to be and soon he was on his way to Mylusa, following the way of the woods.

 

[Ironic]

As Remi paced through the foresty terrain, skillfully she dodged branches as she grew closer to Mylusa. They’ve already caused destruction as some homes were clustered with smoke as it spiraled above the horizon of trees. The pungent smell of decomposition made her wrinkle her nose in disgust, making her take her black bandana in her quiver and fasten it over the bridge of her nose.

Already she was standing at the end of her route, overlooking her home town as she was on an inclined hill. It was a sight she wasn’t prepared for, and her hues filled with sorrow. Debris everywhere, buildings damaged, flames scattered in random places. Someone had to of done this, and it needed to be stopped.

Reaching for an arrow she would quickly yet precisely fix it into her bow, noticing a fellow undead male making his way out of town. Closing an eye as the other one focused, she let go of the arrow, the blade slicing through the air before hitting her target in the head. He fell down, blackened blood erupting from his new wound before going limp.

Remi wasn’t looking forward to doing this on her own. She took a deep breath before jogging into town to investigate further.

 

[DareToDream]

Trail after trail fell under Faeren’s feet as he headed towards the city, listening to the noise as the rest of the forest denizens headed in the opposite direction, fleeing the smoke he could smell on the breeze. He knew that was a bad sign and hurried his steps, nodding as the forest began to gradually thin around him. Finally emerging on a lower slope approaching the town, he paused just outside the tree line, his hand on his sword.

From this vantage point, there wasn’t much to see, just open, untouched, field but he could see the swirls of smoke on the far side of the city and heard the screams coming from within. He also heard the shout of men and the clash of swords and knew he’d come at the right moment. In his time there, the city hadn’t had a very big guard service, just enough to keep citizens in line but not begin enough to fight a battle, especially if your enemy was the undead. Fighting there was though, so he knew not everyone had fled the scourge before them.

A flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and he spun to his left, seeing the arrow as it flew down from high on a bluff, striking a distant figure. His eyes narrowed as he tried to find the source, knowing only one other person who could fire an arrow so precisely from such a distance. Was it her? Not knowing, he finally set his path to two, cutting across the field rapidly, wanting to see.

 

[Ironic]

The closer she approached the town, the more she could depict what was wrong with it. Luckily she didn’t see anyone she knew and most of the people living within appeared to flee as soon as word got. Unfortunately that left the guardsmen attempting to slay all that they could, some even fallen victim to the undead bites, also slowly churning into one.

On her right one of the dammed pests groaned near her, limping with its jaw dropped to his chest. As if she had no time for this she would casually use the right side of her bow and harshly jab it into its face, seeing the brittle skull cave in on itself. As expected, it fell onto its back, unmoving.

“Where are they coming from?” She shouted to a guard that was in the middle of a draw between one of the unlucky bastards, Remi quick to assist and precisely shoot an arrow at its head.

“I don’t know, but there seems to be more and more of them!” Breathlessly he replied, wiping off a stream of sweat above his brow with the back of his armored hand.

 

[DareToDream]

His belief that most of the fighting was on the far side of the city proved wrong within moments of Faeren entering the first main boulevard. A shout from a nearby building drew his attention and he saw a woman flee, a baby in her hand, hot on her heal four of the undead. They were so focused on her that they never saw him and with a few quick steps he was in the center of him.

The first went down with a blow from the handle of his sword, its forehead crushing inward. He dodged the swipe of another one, his ragged and dirty nails scraping across the leather armor on his chest, only to be countered by a swipe of his sword, which sent its head flying. A few more swipes of his sword, met by the sword of both undead men rang out but soon the tide turned and both went down. Turning, he watched the woman sprinting across the field to safety and nodded then turned and moved down the road, heading to the sound of a nearby battle.

Moving between two of them, he saw a large group of undead centered around two figures, both of whom were fighting hard. Wasting no time, he dove in, his sword zinging through the air as he twirled left and right, so focused on the battle he didn’t realize who he was fighting with.

 

[Ironic]

Arrow after arrow she would pierce the heads and hearts of the undead, sweat also beading on her brow before dribbling down off from her chin. It was hard to keep count of all that were surrounding her, eyes darting from left to right in an attempt to calculate their movements.

In the far disntace she would depict a figure with a sword, wailing it from left to right, slaying those undead that dared to cross his boundaries. He looked familiar, until he pivoted around so she could see his face... Faeren!

Attempting to grasp his attention she would aim her arrow towards a nearby undead that he would soon fight, letting go of the string of the bow to let her arrow fly. Precisely it would strike it dead between the eyes, the poor bastard not knowing what it had coming. Falling to the ground, she hoped he would see where the foreign object came from.

 

[DareToDream]

There wasn’t time to think, just to react, and Faeren’s instincts kicked in as his sword swung through the air. Left, right, up down, slash, slash, swipe, cut, so many movements of his sword that the human eye would have had a hard time following it among all the other swords and arrows in the battle.

There were so many undead and only a few fighters that Faeren lost his sight of one and might have taken serious damage from it if the zing of an air hadn’t pierced the area near him. Spinning his head, he saw it pierce an undead between the eyes, knocking it to the ground.

Spinning back around, he saw the individual that had fired it, a huge grin breaking out on his face. “Remi!” he shouted. It had been her that had fired the arrow from on the bluff. They’d been rivals in the academy, tying for #1 in their class, and had been adversaries. Secretly, though, he’d really liked her.

Fighting his way over to her, he soon stood near her side, resuming the fighting.

 

[Ironic]

“You haven’t changed a bit, still biting off way more than you can chew.” She grunted out as she continued to let her arrows soar through the air, hitting her target with ease. It was overwhelming, the amount of undead that continued to pour into the streets.

Remi’s eyes scanned her rival, feeling a certain spark ignite in her core. There’s was always something about him that she liked underneath all of that hate, but the adrenaline rush she used to feel back at the academy was rushing back. Just what she needed.

“What have you been up to?” She asked casually as she continued her battle, grunting as she swung her bow to hit some that came too close in range.

 

[DareToDream]

Her words drew a chuckle from his lips. “Look who’s talking over there. Your arms are going to fall off at the rate you’re whipping out those arrows. Don’t forget you have a limited supply…unlike my sword”. He danced to the side, swiping the head of one undead from it’s shoulders then danced back to her.

“You know me, total man whore, selling my sword to the highest bidder” he said, winking at her. Then he darted behind her and gutted two undead that had snuck up on them. He took a brief moment to let his gaze linger on her ass then, admiring the shape of it. She was still the same sexy woman that had made his heart beat fast when they were in the Academy, though he’d never told her that.

Moving to her other side, he watched the soldier they were fighting with take a swipe to the arm and stagger. He moved to his side immediately, pulling him back to safety. “Catch your breath, my friend. We got this.” Then he was back to Remi, his sword cutting the air like a professional dancer who owned the dance floor.

 

[Ironic]

“That may be true, but I also weild a dagger when those arrows run dry.” She retorted, taking out her dagger from her pocket inside of her cape and started to swing, grunting occasionally from the utter force. The flesh was tough to dig into but she managed to pierce hard enough to cause the undead to cease anymore.

The guard took a step back to recover, breathing harshly as he watched the two at work. He shook his head before regrouping to his fellow comrades, those who were left that is.

“We need to find out what’s causing this to happen.” Remi stated as the last of the undead that were around them fell. “I can sense the magic coming from them, maybe it’s something nearby or something we can fix later.”

 

[DareToDream]

As the last one fell to the ground, Faeren stepped forward and wiped his hard blade against the clothing of one, cleaning it of the undead gore. Sheathing it, he stepped back and took a quick look around, watching more citizens fleeing towards the forest, thankfully with nothing giving chase.

“I have to agree with you on that one, Remi. They stink of magical taint….it fairly oozes from their skin. Only black magic could cause this also. Someone has an agenda that’s much bigger then these foul creatures. Maybe we need to get to the Academy. Knowledge might be the only effective weapon right now.”

Moving to the guard, he caught his attention. “Gather as many of the guards as you can and hold the outer perimeter as best you can. We’re heading inward and will send out any civilians we find. Make sure they get to the forest if you can. You’ll be their only hope until we can figure out what’s going on.” The man looked at him with wide eyes then glanced at Remi before nodding.

Turning back to Remi, Faeren nodded towards town. “Want to take the lead, wicked blade of the west?”

 

[Ironic]

Reno listened to Faeren as he barked orders affirmatively towards the guard, obeying as he was his only change for survival as no real orders or send eof direction was given elsewhere. His comment towards her title elicited a scoff, shaking her head before leading the way towards their old school that was still intact despite all of the chaos happening outside.

“My first bet would to look at the library. Perhaps there is an article on black magic and how to cease it.” Remi suggested as she opened the door, holding it for a brief moment so he could grip it to allow himself entrance.

The hallways appeared the same as she remembered, walking straight ahead before making a right, left, straight, then left again to enter into the library. Books upon books scattered against the shelves, enough to keep one reading for the rest of their life. “Okay, look in the B category and we will try and find a book on black magic.”

 

[DareToDream]

He followed her sure steps through the town, keeping a watchful eye around them. The sounds of fighting continued in different parts of the city and screams could be heard from time to time. Citizens slipped past them when they could, running for their life, fear in their eyes. His honor insisted he follow, escort them to safety, but he knew that he and Remi were their best chance for survival so he continued behind her.

The library brought back so many memories he had to pause and take it in. A swordsman by trade, many would be surprised at how much he loved to read and how many hours he had spent shut away in here. As the door shut behind him, he felt it, a tingle that crawled along his skin.

Her words made sense but that tingle commanded his attention more. “Do you feel that, Remi?” he murmured. “Something’s making my skin tingle. I’ve never felt it before. It feels like….I don’t know…” his voice trailed off as he held out his hand and flexed his fingers then stared at the skin on his arm, which tingled more.

 

[Ironic]

“I feel a shiver down my spine but I’m not tingling. Are you okay?” She questioned beforenlooking at the rows of books ahead of them. There must’ve be a clue somewhere, and if not then maybe it’ll help lead them to go somewhere else. “I’ll head towards the B section. If you need to have a seat go ahead. I don’t want you fainting on me if you’re not feeling well.”

Strolling casually she would think about what he said about his skin tingling. Was it something i here that caused it to tingle? Regardless she searched the B category books, not stumbling across anything black magic worthy. “It has to be in here somewhere...”

Searching endlessly, there would be a book flipped around, and upon investigating, it was a black magic book. “Hey, I found it! Can you read this better than me? I’m worthless at magic in general.”