In all worldly means... what is this?!

As the fog disperse and my sun lights my environment, I see the vast appearance of a red steaming swamp...

No, more a lake.

My position marks the entrance to a hidden part of the forest. Before me lies a vast and unfathomable deep lake.

Not an ordinary one of course... the water undulates in a slow pace and is more of a muddy consistence. It´s color, a brownish red.

This is in no means water anymore...

I have read about a phenomenon like this. But this actually to be true is very interesting and frightening.

When a necromancer is powerful enough, he is able to summon creatures and living beings, which existed long before him. It even allows him to recreate their original appearance, even if their body is decayed for over hundreds of years.

If such a necromancer has conduct such a summoning, where he has reanimated creatures which are long extinct, it´s said that an evil omen will accompany that deed.

And depending on how powerful or how many creatures he has called back to life, the more evil the omen will become.

This lake of blood, is by far, the strongest evil omen I´ve ever heard of.

This can´t mean anything good...

If this lake is an evil omen, then that means...

There has to be a powerful necromancer here.

Ah, this is becoming more and more complicated. And there I just wanted to end my journey this year with a satisfying peace...

Screw my plans.

~Crush!~

A sudden noise from behind me pulls my attention backwards.

As I turn, I already see the cause of sound. A large branch has fallen to the ground and splits into many pieces of half burned ashes.

My sun literally vaporized all the trees around me.

At least not another of those scum undeads.

Legend has it, that the evil omen is the center of the magic source.

So by chance the bastard of necromancer is also in it´s center.

Guess I have no other chance, but to investigate this pool of blood a little closer.

And I most likely want to avoid another meeting with one of those zombies.

Carefully I poke the pool before me with a stick of wood.

~swoosh~

with whistling sounds the stick immediately begins to melt.

So this stuff is also very corrosive...

glad I didn´t use my staff for that.

This is really a horrifying place to be. Its totally covered by large branches from the trees aside the lake and still, this lake unbelievable large.

Now how to cross this dump...

Cracking sounds interrupt my train of thoughts.

At my sight, behind me a large horde of creatures appear.

Living dead´s .... and not only a few

their timing is cruel.

Guess I have no chance but to advance forwards.

Huge, manlike creatures hump their way towards me.

They scream and moan in horrifying tones.

I don´t think I can fight them all.

Within the horde I also spot at least three of those large giant things, from before...

Damn...

I can only take a risk and try to pass the lake with my skill.

Within seconds I turn towards the lake and calculate, how much time I would have to jump, before the corrosion would harm me.

But to my bad luck, the creatures behind me are not willing to wait until I finished my preparations.

They come forth and seemingly have a common goal... ME

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With a sudden outburst, their slow pace vanishes and they start to run as crazy after me...

I don´t have time to think for long, without thinking I throw my small sun after the first wave.

They light up and burn, as they scream and rashly disperse into ashes.

But I have still no cause for joy, as the next wave of undeads is already at the go.

My sun still floats above the point where I´ve thrown it, but it visibly loses strength.

Only a few seconds and the sun would disperse as well.

A disgusting stench of burnt flesh and other nasty body parts fills the air, right before me appears the first, half burnt, creature.

With his crispy burnt hand it tries to grab my collar, only a fast reaction of mine avoided that.

~scrash~

a sound as if coal breaks and I lifted the undead up in the air with my staff.

With a splash, the body landed within the bloody pool.

But instead of melting like the stick, it just starts to float above...

Interesting, so those things aren't melting in there.

I think I can use that...

My idea is simple, just throw enough of those damn things in there to create a path for me.

With no delay, I point my staff towards a close bunch of a dozen or so undeads.

Immediately I release my full magic aura.

The aura I release, creates a raging gale and shortly after becomes a tormenting storm, circling around me.

Let´s see, if you like to swim you nasty folks.

I turn my staff in my hand and with a large and strong whirl, the zombie horde gets caged within the gale.

Only very scarce, I manage to avoid a swing, one of the giants is right in front of me.

It seems to be in more rage than the thing I killed already....

A nasty stench wraps around me, as that huge giant screams at me. It´s mouth awfully wide open, it´s breath flings at me.

I nearly throw up, as accompanying the breath a part of it´s flesh is catapulted at me.

It sticks to my gown and a disgusting substance emerges from it.

Before I can think about anything more, I throw the horde of zombies, with an imposing swirl, inside the blood lake.

To my great surprise the things inside the lake quiet down and it seems as if they became lifeless hollows again. Nasty and disgusting hollows...

But the better for me.

As I turn around again to get a clearer impression on my status, an urging pain spreads throughout my chest.

One of the smaller zombies managed to get a hit in on me. I was too slow.

The hit inflicted me a surging pain and I got flung back a few meters. Nearly touching the lake myself.

“Ugh...”

A small pain shriek escapes my lips.

“You damned bastard!”

I become a little agitated and throw a direct punch at that misfit.

Without mercy my fist hammers inside it´s head and a splash full of brownish fluid flows all over the place.

I retract my hand and wipe the remains on my gown.

I had enough, as I look at the path I came from I only see, an overflowing with zombies, forest.

Sheer endless hordes of undead...

what is this!?

How many creatures has this necromancer reanimated...

Damn.

I hurry and turn around.

Then, with a skill I trained over many years, I jump up.

Within the air I suddenly accelerate to an amazingly fast speed and with a few further jumps I slide pass the bloody lake.

Whilst using the undead corpses here and there as resting spot, so I can jump in the air again.

I am lucky...

only a few seconds above the lake, I spot a small island in it´s mid.

There´s a smaller ruin of an ancient temple on it.

That has to be his hiding spot.

A few movements of mine and I manage to safely land on the island.

The skill that I used to slide over the lake is called the 14 steps technique and is a unique swordsman skill. It took me 10 years to perform the master level of that skill. Its final form is so one can accelerate continually and walk with intertwined steps. Performed perfectly it would leave the impression as if one is just a stream of light.

This place is rather small.

The island is about a few hundred meters in width and not very high above the bloody water.

After all, the island gives one the feeling, as if it would sink any minute from now.

But I have to endure that feeling, this is definitely the hiding spot and the center of the evil magic.

Covered all over with swamp reed, the ground is not entirely visible and I still feel that there are spots I should better not step on.

As I look around, I cartography the danger spots in my small notebook. Just to be safe.

The island is really not that impressive, it took me ten minutes to scout around.

The only remarkable thing is the temple ruin in the middle of the island, also the only spot where I haven´t looked around yet. At fist I wanted to be sure that here are no other surprises around... like some cute undeads.

Gladly I discovered no further annoyances around here.

Finally some peace...

I use the short time of peace to clear my gown from the nasty remains.

A small water spell creates a circulating bubble of water in my hand. A steady flow over my body washes away all the filth.

Time to explore that ruin and hopefully eliminate that necromancer.

I cautiously walk towards the arch bow, which marks the entrance of the ruins.

A small building, maybe a former chapel or something likely. Now the only remains are some old and withered stone walls, as well as the arch bow.

Only a small part of rotten wood shows signs of a once impressive entrance gate. Above the arch bow a smaller window frame carries parts of stained glass.

The main building of the ruin is now nothing more than a small and with moss covered room.

The walls withered and covered in cracks. Parts of the roof have fallen inside and all here and then is a large wooden joist embed into the swallowing ground.

A scene out of a dream, if there wouldn´t be those zombies from before..

I enter the room and immediately recognize a strong magic aura.

Like a scarf the aura wraps around me and tries to suffocate me, I can only adapt to its pressure.

This magic is far stronger than I am...

Things could turn out really bad, this aura is strong. Too strong.

Every inch of my body suddenly yells and screams for me to escape. The never ending malaise...

I feel it again. Its surging throughout my body suppressing my rationality.

I need to stay calm, but it´s no use. I turn automatically and speed up. Exactly when I stepped underneath the arch bow, my body stopped all it´s movements.

And a crawling fear emerges within my mind. As I slowly turn around and stare blankly into the horrifying silhouette of a dark framed man.

“Welcome dear visitor. Why don´t you stay and have a little chat with me?”

A voice echoes around me, the tone is high pitched and it´s hard to withstand the ear piercing dominance his voice carries.

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I will release about one to two chaps a week, since i have not so much freetime

If you spot mistakes, i´ll gladly correct them 

And i would be glad if there is someone who could help me with a problem. somehow rr messes with my spacelines every single time...

someone any idea how to fix that?