Reegar Greywalker walked towards an abandoned graveyard above a hill. He looked at a broken sign that reads Hilltop’s Cemetery. A gust of wind blew a terrible stench towards him, and he let out a grunt as he continued his march.

The steel helmet covered much of his head, revealing only his mouth and jaw. Graying stubbles dotted his face and five vertical slits from the visor provided vision.

He wore a red gambeson and it reached down to his knees. A pair of steel pauldrons protected his shoulder and steel vambraces cover his arms.

A belt hangs from his waist, with a leather satchel attached to the right. On his neck, he wears a circular steel medallion with a symbol of a fox’s head surrounded by nine tails.

If someone describes how this armor looks, they would say it appears worn out and rugged, dotted with scratches and dust.

His right hand unsheathed a longsword from his back.

The sword’s overall length is around fifty inches long. The hilt securely held the double-edged blade, and a pommel secured the hilt of the sword. In contrast to the neglected armor, he meticulously maintained this sword.

He quickly surveyed the surroundings. He kneeled near an opened grave and looked at the soil. Chaotic, erratic, and there are claw marks on the tombstones. Someone tore apart the wooden coffin, and now half of the corpse is missing. Someone or something ripped open the chest and took the organs.

A picky eater.

A low gurgling noise caught his attention, and he noticed a creature squatting on the other end of the graveyard.

The creature is devoid of any hair and the skin is pale, stretched tight over its skeletal structure, giving it the appearance of something that is always hungry, never satisfied. It gorged on a corpse, focusing on the organs, ripping them out.

He grumbled. He recognized this type of undead. Ghoul. The creature became undead either through a bite from another ghoul or by consuming sentient flesh, resulting in an eternal craving for corpses. Worst-case scenario, necromancer’s plaything. Unleashing this creature into the world to test their necrotic power or some kind of twisted experiment or game.

He received compensation to take care of this and he intends to fulfill his contract. He must stop this ghoul here. There’s a settlement nearby. The ghoul would become a ghast if it fed on the living, presenting a new set of problems to avoid.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The ghoul stopped its feast and turned towards him and snarled, revealing a row of fangs with putrid cream colored saliva dripping from its mouth. Its eyes are white and cloudy. And his arms are slightly longer with larger palms and long fingers that end sharply. It stood up, hunched, and continued to snarl and hissed.

Reegar raised the sword and held it vertically in front of his face. Red rose petals swirled around him, carrying a sweet rosy scent, Reegar’s answer to the ghoul’s snarls. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out as he strode towards the ghoul, holding his weapon with his right hand.

The ghoul’s legs pushed through the grass and its cloudy eyes locked on its target and lunged towards him with its right arm pushed forward. The long, thin arm reminds him of a spear. Sparks flew as the claw meets the blade. Reegar deflected the claw and sliced the ghoul’s chest. Black blood sprayed onto the ground, creating a rancid smell.

The ghoul jerked back and swung its left arm at the Reegar’s face, grazing his lips.

Reegar slammed the pommel of his sword right into the ghoul’s head, pushing it back and unleashed a swing, aiming at the ghoul’s neck. Petals of roses enveloped the blade as it cut through the air.

Blossoming Rose Sword Style, First Form, Roses by the Roadside.

The blade cut through the ghoul’s neck, freeing the head from the shoulder. The ghoul’s scream turns into a gutter mess before it stops, followed by a thump.

The head rolls sideways, separated from its body. The paladin plucked the head and placed it into a sack. He offered a small prayer before leaving the graveyard with a satisfied smile.

It doesn’t take long for him to meet with civilization again. One small village, among many in this land. Life, quiet and quaint, yet too dull for him. The sound of chickens and goats greeted him as he walked into the village, with eyes staring at him. An armed man walking into a village carrying a sack that oozes the smell of decayed flesh. These people will gossip about him for the next couple of months. He stopped at the largest building in the village, the elder’s house.

The elder, a man in his late sixties, was sitting on the porch with several others when he arrived. He let out a weary smile when he noticed Reegar.

“I’ve dealt with the monster. It’s a ghoul.”

The elder looked at the sack and signaled a nearby villager. “You don’t need to show me. I’ll take your word, paladin.”

Reegar pierced the ghoul’s head with his sword and a burst of petals ran through the blade. It eats through the head as it crumbles into ashes. He uttered a prayer to his goddess, to thank her for giving him the opportunity to face a foe and win.

The elder handed him a bag and inside were several dried meats, several eggs, breads, a pie, two water bags, a bag containing cocoa powder and several berries and fruits. “I am sorry we couldn’t provide you with an actual payment. In rugums.” the elder spoke.

He looked at the elder and smiled. “Nonsense. Right now, only food and water are sufficient. I hate hunting for food, anyway.”