Raylas backed away from the hand and scanned his surroundings. There was a very faint trial where the snow collapsed while the hand dug its way through, but no other signs of a breach.

If this thing got this far it was no wonder the guards were so active.

Sapphire scuttled over when she realized he was not following. As she neared the area she froze and pinched her nose at the smell.

“Uh… that's foul,” she coughed as she backed away.

“The goblins were probably defeated and only the undead remain,” he concluded as he stabbed the arm with the dagger. It squirmed against the blade but was unable to free itself, then proceeded to flail toward him uselessly. Its nails were dulled to the point of almost non-existence. Even if it would touch him the worst it would do is pull his clothes and be a general nuisance.

“But that Fort was half a day away?” she muttered. “I don’t think there was nearly enough activity here to attract a host of that size.”

“Maybe not normally, but…” Raylas sighed then pointed at the dangling chain of the knife.

“Oh, right… the artifact.”

“This is why we call these things curses,” he grumbled as he examined the hand. The bones were brittle and a section was splintered where he stepped on it. A black ooze seemed to seep out and drip on the ground, yet where the blade cut had sealed itself by searing the flesh shut.

“We need to report this,” he said as he flicked the arm back onto the ground and stomped on it. Bones cracked and gore splattered on the street. A terrible odor rose which made him heave but he continued until the body was flat and broken, then he started to cut it into pieces.

“Go get a patrol to come over here,” he ordered. “I’m going to look for the breach this thing came from.”

People started to look outside, the smell of the dead starting to overcome the bakery.

“I won’t leave you, Master,” Sapphire said. “If those things are after you then you’ll need my protection.”

Raylas sighed and started to the wall. “You better hurry then.”

He jogged toward the palisade. As he got close he heard scratching and groaning against the walls, the bottom of the wall had a small hole which had been expanded. It might have been an animal which snuck in or just rot from years since the wall was erected, but now it was a trigger which alerted the undead that there was a weakness to the wall.

“Go!” he yelled at Sapphire who was still following him.

He started to swipe at the creatures as they reached inside.

The girl pouted for a moment before she dissipated into a mist and reformed as two children. They were nearly identical to her adult form but there was a youthfulness around her which gave the impression she was barely ten winters.

“I’m off!” One of the mini-Sapphires yelped as she sprinted away, the other one stayed near him and watched him fight.

He arched an eyebrow at the strange magic but the girl who stayed gave him a smack on the back.

“Eyes on the prize, buddy,” she squeaked. “Didn’t you have something to kill?”

He shook his head and chuckled as he charged toward the growing gap. The Creatures were reaching inside, their nails or exposed bones finding holds in the wood and scraping away splinters.

Raylas started by cutting the fingers off each creature as they gained a purchase. The zombies seemed to recoil from the touch of his dagger, but from the sea of arms and hands reaching through none were able to avoid it.

As each piece hit the ground Raylas stomped on it, his boots causing them to splort disgustingly on the dirt path.

The smell got worse and worse, but the creatures kept coming. As he hacked against them he saw that the ones by the small gap were being crushed by the small wave behind them. There were not too many undead, no more than a couple dozen, but their insistence to get inside was becoming a hazard for more than just the townsfolk.

The bodies creaked against the wood and blood squirted inside onto Raylas. He flinched away, but a stream splattered across his face. He coughed in disgust at the smell but luckily none got into his eyes or mouth. He rubbed his face to clear the mess but the moment of inactivity caused a crack to resound across the road.

One of the logs had a large chunk crack leaving a wide gap for the creatures to take a hold of. He rushed forward and hacked the fingertips away, breaking their grip before they could pull it apart further but a few of the fingers didn’t want to be cut.

A reddish blood leaked down from one zombie, the normal black spinning within the droplets. Raylas cursed as the face of one of his companions was pushed forward to the front. His gaze was milked over and hollow. The laughter during nights of drinking was replaced with a pathetic moan as he tried to pull the splinter out.

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“You damned fool,” he bellowed as he pulled back and punched his companion in the face. The head jerked back but he didn't move due to the pressure of the horde. The dead tried to bit him but Raylas jerked his hand back and cut forward with the knife, cutting its throat.

“Well that was useless. He’s already dead,” the girl said. She was standing on the side, just watching.

“Less talk, more helping,” Raylas snapped.

“I am helping,” she giggled. “I’m going to get a patrol. They seem to not believe my report and are trying to lecture me right now.”

Raylas swore again as a zombie caught his hand and started to pull him in. He used the hook on the knife to amputate the arm.

“Make sure none of that leaves the area,” he roared as he grabbed the weighted end of the chain and smashed his old friend’s hand.

The bones finally broke which helped loosen its grip on the wood. Unfortunately the split had extended enough to see a gap on the other side. Zombie’s fingers reached into the crevice and started to yank the wood away, well out of reach of his dagger.

Raylas roared and kicked the horde stuck inside the original gap. His foot hit the companion, his still fresh body withstanding the kick and was pushed back slightly. Space between the wall and the zombies grew for a few seconds, the wood loudly snapping as a large section of the splintered wood was yanked off. Then the horde crashed back into the wall with a disgusting squish as some of the weaker creatures were smashed into a gory mess.

The snap echoed down the street. Raylas continued to cut and break bones but he was making no progress.

The clanging of footsteps echoed from down the road, and a number of guards soon came around the bed being led by a girl with shimmering blue hair.

“There he is!” she cried.

“Holy shit the brats telling the truth!” A guard exclaimed.

“Notify Sims,” the most decorated guard ordered. He drew his sword. “Are you bastards going to let a visitor defend our town? Get your sorry asses over there!”

The group rushed forward. Raylas had to remove another arm which took a hold of his cloak and pulled him close. The old companion got very close to biting him as he stumbled from the arm, but he managed to dodge the broken teeth by a quick uppercut. Bits of more teeth peppered his face as he regained his footing and lurched back.

The guards finally arrived and started their own attacks against the zombies. Many of them had a lot more reach with their weapons so the bodies of the creatures were hacked away through the splinter.

Raylas watched for rogue body parts and smashed each one that tried to scramble into the city. Soon the moaning lessened but more body parts appeared crawling into the city. He moved as quickly as he could but a number of them were getting further and further way.

The townsfolk had already locked themselves inside their homes so the street was empty. Sapphire just stood to the side, previously had high-fived her double and then leaned against a building, waiting.

He crushed a finger when an armored foot slammed next to him. Raylas leapt to the side and saw the crushed skull of an undead almost right where his ankle was. A guard gave him a polite solute then stormed off slamming down on the remnants of the dead.

Raylas looked around and saw that only a couple of guards remained at the splinter, keeping an eye out for more enemies. The rest were scouring the streets like he had done.

“Good work, stranger,” the decorated guard said as he marched toward him.

“The dead are a threat to all. It would have been irresponsible to leave an opening unguarded before you arrived.” Raylas gave the man a respectful bow and cleaned his blade in the snow. He dried it off with a piece of his cloak and tied it back to his belt.

“Irresponsible, perhaps,” the guard replied. “But not unexpected. Most people wouldn’t run at the dead and attack them with only a… dagger?” He gave the weapon a curious look.

“I am a wandering warrior,” Raylas said. “I have had my fair share with the undead and other monsters of similar ilk.”

“Regardless you have our thanks,” the man repeated. “If you come with us I’m sure that Sim would like to have a word with you.”

The head guard at the gate? The man seemed to have a fairly high position in the town. He thought for a moment before shaking his head to decline the offer.

The guard insisted but Raylas refused again. A stimulation to stay in the town was to avoid fighting, which he had just broken. Sure, he might have saved lives but by going back on his word would cause trouble. Those which enforced rules and laws tended to be a little too stickly on keeping them, so avoiding Sim and pretending this didn’t happen would be the best.

This town was part of an important road, so surely he wasn’t the only traveler in town.

“Shall we continue to get some food, Master?” Sapphire asked as she tugged against his cloak.

“Please?” the second girl tugged on his other side.

Raylas looked between the two and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

A mage that can not only teleport but transform into children? Not one, but two? How could someone so powerful become mana-touched? He sighed, realizing that he might not have the worst curse between the two of them.

He gave them both a quick glance then patted both their heads.

“You only get one loaf to share,” he declared as they turned and headed toward the bakery.

The girls groaned in disappointment but there was still a cheerful spring to their step as they entered the building. The owner, seeing the fight was over, had unlocked it again.

Once inside everyone cringed back away from him.

“I have not been bitten or cut,” Raylas soothed, holding up his hands.

The owner shook their head and pointed at his shoes while holding their nose.. They were caked in black blood.

Raylas gave a polite nod then gave Sapphire two copper and told her to get him a loaf as well. He then went outside and sighed, the only boots he owned that wasn’t armor now ruined.

It looks like it's time for some clothes shopping.