Name: Todd Longfellow, Race: Human

Height: 5’6”, Weight: 130, Sex: Male

Archetype: Fighter

HP: 18 / 18, Mana: 0 / 0

Stats:

Physical: 4, Moxie: 2, Spiritual: 2, Luck: 2

Agility: 2, Magic: 2, Mental: 2, Energy: 3.

Relevant Skills: Physical - Armored Defense, Physical - Awareness, Physical - Suppress Vomit and/or Nausea, Physical Melee - Sword, Physical Melee - Warhammer

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The canopy of the trees blocked most of the light as the forest grew thicker around them. Each step further in made the muscles in Todd's shoulders tighten further. He looked over his friends, Jax, Mark, and Reggie, standing near a large tree. Each of them looked in a different direction; Mark's mouth was moving.

Todd tried to listen, straining his ears, but all he heard was the rustling of leaves and underbrush from each step he took. Again, the rhythmic sssshhht, from Henderson, as he sharpened yet another speak to set into the ground.

"What's up," Todd said in a low tone as he got closer to his friends. Mark and Reggie glared at him; Jax just stared off deeper into the woods.

Mark held up a finger to his lips but didn't make a sound. Todd nodded as he closed the dozen or so yards between them. Jax's head turned toward Todd, causing him to stop, left foot still hanging in the air. He carefully lowered it to the ground, trying to make as little noise as possible. Mark pointed two fingers at Todd, then at the woods in the direction Jax looked.

With a nod, Todd looked into the woods; prickly pine needles thrust themselves from almost every angle—each seemingly struggling to prevent Todd from viewing anything further in the forest than a few meters. Finally, focusing on what he guessed was the same point as Jax, Todd stared at a hole between several branches, only to see disappointment.

After a minute of silence, Todd took a hesitant step closer toward his friends. They didn't move, so he took a few more until he was standing next to Jax.

"I don't see anything," Todd whispered.

"Me either," Jax said.

"Nor I," Mark whispered.

"Then what are we looking for?" Todd said. His eyes are now scanning the woods around them.

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"Something, causing the animals to go silent, also Charisse is out there," Jax said. The man stood up straight and reached one hand around to pull out his heavy mace. "It just feels off."

"Off?" Mark said.

"Like," Jax paused, and his face twisted to one side. "Like you ate a bunch of cheap fast food, and you feel your stomach struggle with it."

"So like the last time we had you," Todd said but silenced himself as Mark threw up a hand.

Mark started to point to his left, and Jax's eyes were already looking in that direction. Mark quickly looked further to his left and grimaced, face scrunching up as he cast a spell, then he looked to his right and did the same.

"Incoming, I'll throw up walls to prevent flanking," Mark said.

Jax took a step forward, his mace raised. Henderson took a step back toward the rear; Todd also stepped back away from the space Jax would need to swing his mace.

"Also boxes us in," Todd said. He glanced to the left and right, his eyes trying to pierce the foliage and branches.

"If you have a… "Mark cut himself off as he pointed a finger toward movement in the forest.

Todd's eyes followed the finger into the woods, a hand slowly poke out from behind a tree, followed by an arm and the rest of a soldier. Then, finally, a slow-moving soldier came into view. The chain mail had seen better days, with some rents exposing even at a distance rotten flesh and bone.

"Undead," Todd whispered, "Maybe we can foll…."

"Die foul creatures," Jax yelled as he ran forward.

"Mark, cover our rear," Todd called out as he pulled out his sword and followed Jax. "Jax, I'll be slightly behind and to your right." He said as he angled himself to be ten feet to his friend's right. The undead already noticed them and started also closing the gap.

Jax lept, using a fallen log for more height, bringing his mace down onto the head of an armored zombie. The creature's helmet caved in, but the corpse did not fall. Instead, a few nearby undead swung with weapons or hands at Jax.

Todd rushed the last few feet and swung his sword; metal clanged against chain, but the sharp blade managed to get through several links and slice into the zombie's shoulder. The arm dropped limply to the creature's side. Todd took a step back as another zombie came in from the side. Before the creature could swing, the head of a sizeable spiked mace turned and knocked the head loose from its shoulders.

"Die foul creature!" Jax yelled, swinging wildly but hitting several of the undead around them.

Todd sheathed his sword, took a step back, unhooked onside of his backpack, and reached in.

A gnarled hand of rotten flesh and a few exposed bones scraped against Todd's armor. Bits of the zombie's hand caught and tore off, leaving a trail of dried blood and skin stuck to where the chain was loose.

Swallowing as he took several more steps back, Todd focused his mind on what he needed to pull from his inventory. Mentally he thought about his Warhammer, and it came to his hand. Holding it in his free hand, he threw his backpack to the ground.

Raising his arm high, he brought down the head of the hammer upon the zombie that swung at him. It flattened the creature's shoulder and continued until the weapon stuck in where the lungs should have been. Todd wiggled the weapon free with his hands as he lifted a foot and pushed against the undead. The zombie fell backward onto the ground, motionless.

"Remind me to get a better blunt weapon!" Todd called out as he stepped forward and swung the Warhammer again. Rotating the hammer midswing, Todd turned the head around before it smashed into the neck of another zombie. The creature collapsed as if a puppet with its strings cut. Another zombie with no legs climbed over the unanimated corpse. Todd, with both hands on the hammer, swung down;

Ichor and old blood splatted as the weapon caved in the crawling zombie's head. Todd focused on the next zombie and concentrated on the sounds of battle and not the squishing of his boots in the wet zombie cranial discharge.

Keeping his eyes above the ground, he turned to his left as he readied for a pair of undead shuffling toward him. Todd moved forward and stood next to Jax. Several bodies already lay around his friend, a speed bump of the dead.

"More incoming. I'm on your right." Todd said as he placed himself a few feet to Jax's side.

"Yeah, can you swing left-handed?" Jax said.

"Yes,"

"Get on my left; I'm gonna move up some, almost tripping over limbs here." Jax took a big step and hopped a little as he moved over the mound.

Todd circled Jax and stood on the left. Then, shifting his Warhammer to his other hand, he took a moment to glance back toward Reggie and Mark.

"Don't fall too far behind," Todd said.

The pair of zombies reached Jax first, and Todd readied a swing, but a cluster of more undead was shuffling their way. He stopped counting at ten as even more came into view. One of the creatures was this bloated and massive bulk; it looked like the person soaked up the river before being reanimated. Gritting his teeth, he wondered if he had time to cover his face with a cloth as his stomach twisted a little at the thought of fighting these creatures. Before he could suggest they retreat, Jax yelled at the oncoming horde.

"Die foul beasts, may your bodies find rest in pieces."

Todd looked at Jax to verify his friend used the correct word. A gleeful smile covered his friend's face as the paladin almost bounced in a place like a child on a sugar high.