The ghouls pinned Ardwyn down, their claws digging into his arms. Ardwyn cried out in pain. He was being clawed to death. Familiar now with his ability to conjure lightning bolts, Ardwyn tried to cast the bolts from his palms, but they veered off to the side, missing the ghouls entirely.

The ghouls’ wicked faces loomed over Ardwyn. They seemed lifeless, yet animated by some external force. The witch’s laugh echoed in the distance. She must have been somehow controlling them from afar.

Ardwyn strained under the ghouls’ hold. He tried wrestling out of their grip but the undead creatures were far too strong for him.

Darkness filled his sight, his strength leaving him. He was on the verge of collapsing and passing out. Though he tried to persevere until now, the grim reality was that he was outnumbered and overwhelmed.

In the final moments, when Ardwyn had already lost hope, a blade pierced through the darkness. It swept through the air, cleanly severing a ghoul’s head. The ghoul’s head rolled past him.

Ardwyn looked up. Rodrick’s blade gleamed in the fog with an enchanted glow. The ghouls, startled by the new threat, released their claw grip on Ardwyn and shrieked at Rodrick.

The ghouls, too slow and clumsy, were no match for Rodrick’s quick swings. With the economy of movement from what had seemed like countless hours of practice, Rodrick drove the sword through the first ghoul’s heart, shortly after kicking off its dead body, to free his sword. Rodrick turned and executed an almost dance-like maneuver, cleanly decapitating the second ghoul. The headless corpse swayed for a moment on its knees before collapsing beside Ardwyn, who was stunned with shock.

Ardwyn had never seen anyone as skilled with a blade as Rodrick. Rodrick helped him to his feet.

“The witch,” Ardwyn gasped, “she tried to steal my life force.”

Rodrick reached into his pocket, and lifted a vial of green liquid.

“Here drink this,” he said. “It’s a healing potion.”

Ardwyn put the vial to his lips and drank the liquid. It was bitter and thick. He took a few swallows and then turned his head to the side and coughed.

“The potion will bring you back,” Rodrick said. “Do you have the strength to walk, or do you require carrying?”

“I’m bleeding. I don’t know if I’ll make it.” Ardwyn said.

But when Ardwyn looked down at his chest he noticed that even though his clothes were soaked with blood, his chest was somehow healed. There were no traces of any cuts.

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“My wounds… “ Ardwyn said, not believing what had happened. “They’re gone…”

“It’s the regenerative effect of the healing potion.” Rodrick said. “I bought it from a merchant in town. The fellow was quite crafty and pushy, trying to sell me other potions of dubious worth, but this particular brew stood out. He claimed the healing effect worked 25% faster. I said why not, seems like a good deal now, eh?”

Ardwyn felt like he owed his life to the merchant from town. Their first encounter at the market stand had seemed like a scam. Healing potions? Regenerative potions? He didn’t care the least when the merchant mentioned them, but now they made all the difference. These potions had saved his life and restored his energy.

“I’ve a few more healing potions, should the need arise,” Rodrick said, his hand searching the folds of his pockets. “Here, take these.”

This time, Ardwyn eagerly accepted the potions. He stuffed the healing vials deep into his pockets.

“We must press on through this foul fog,” Rodrick said. “I don’t know where we are, but if we keep straight we are bound to come out somewhere.”

Ardwyn could barely see Rodrick in front of him, the fog covering everything.

“I’ve witnessed my share of strange happenings in the streets after dark, but this…” Rodrick said, “this is beyond anything I’ve seen. You were marked for ill intent. As if you possessed something the witch desired.”

“She wanted my life force,” Ardwyn said. “I felt her draw it from my heart, she was growing stronger from it.”

“Are there many others who wish you dead, or want your life force?” Rodrick said looking around.

“Not that I’m aware.”

Rodrick said, “Fortunately I found you in time. Be wary of extending trust so easily to strangers.”

“It wasn’t my choice,” Ardwyn said. “I felt hypnotized to go. Something took over and called me.”

“A spell, no doubt. But why did the witch unleash ghouls after you?”

“I learned a magic bolt ability at the mage Academy. I was able to use it to repel the witch for sometime.”

“Intriguing,” Rodrick said, stroking his chin. “These energy bolts, how far can you cast them?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, the range?”

“I don’t know,” Ardwyn said. “Perhaps up to twenty feet but I can’t be sure.”

“That shall suffice.”

“Why?”

“Well, we are not out of the clear yet, I fear. Should we find ourselves surrounded by more of her minions, we have to fight together. I shall engage in closer quarter combat, while you provide cover with your bolts from afar.”

“I should be able to do that.” Ardwyn considered Rodrick’s words. “Why do you think she went after me? I mean, why did she want my life force?”

“Who knows,” Rodrick shrugged. “What dealings have you had with earth witches until now?”

“None at all,” Ardwyn said.

“Sometimes they can feast on a life force of others. Still, I wonder, why single you out? You spoke previously of a prior encounter with this witch. Where?”

“In the marketplace. She posed as a simple herbalist, and gifted me the Ethereal Blossoms.”

“Hmm, and what are those?”

“They are a sort of a magical flower. Mages use them for mana and possibly for crossing over portals.”

“I don’t have much experience with mages or magic. My blade is enchanted but it was a gift. The workings of such magic are beyond me. I just use it and it works. Don’t know how. Don’t care.”

Ardwyn’s and Rodrick’s conversation echoed in the emptiness around them. For a brief moment they had forgotten their troubles and circumstances. A piercing howl brought them back to the peril of their situation.

From the fog emerged a massive shape, much larger than anything they could have anticipated. Nothing could have prepared them for what loomed in the darkness before them.