Levente Samu had been a great and upcoming mage. The only problem, he was from a small farming village on the border of the kingdom. Even as a kid, he would try to help his parents and neighbors using his self-taught magic. The local village medicine man who was the only other person in a 50-mile(80.4 km) range who knew magic tried to teach the boy everything he knew. But, it only took him till his 13th birthday to learn everything the medicine man knew.
The village was poor in terms of money. But, it was rare when someone went hungry. Over the years the village had noticed his magical inclination. So they had saved up all of the money they had made and 8 years later they had enough to send him to the capital to get a magical education for his 15th birthday. The village only had enough money to enroll him for a year, however. So, Levente had to become an adventurer and risk his life in order to make ends meet.
When He had finally finished his education he ranked in the top 15 most powerful mages in the kingdom. Levente finally returned to his village to only find ash, rubble, and rotting corpses. At the sight, he had let out a scream with such magical force that it made trees waiver and could be heard for miles. That was the last time anyone saw the great mage Levente Samu.
But, unbeknownst to anyone. Levente had hidden away in order to conduct his research. He considered his research to be righteous but others would have called it dark magic. For he was trying to make the dead rise. After years of trial and error, he had perfected the spell.
After making his discovery he spent many more sleepless nights working to bring them all back. After a month he had revived everyone in the village. A few months later a group of adventurers came into town talking about investigating the presence of dark magic. He remembered meeting them in the fields, talking for a bit then asking them if they wanted to sit-down and have a drink.
He still remembered the looks of disgust on their faces as they saw old Bob on the porch of his newly rebuilt house. He remembered how they drew their swords and cut old Bob down. The rest was a furious blur. The next thing he knew he was standing over the corpses of the adventurers. Old Bob was looking at him with a thankful look. Levente was confused, ‘why did they attack an old man?’ he wondered in shocked disbelief.
Little did Levente know but his vision clouded, he was looking at an old man. But the men that he had just killed were looking at a moving rotting corpse.
____________________________________________________________________________
Bunden opened his eyes, everything hurt and the world was spinning. He remembered the bumpy roll down the hill. He thought back on how many rocks and branches had jabbed him as he rolled over them. The dizziness started to fade so Bunden started looking around. He look down to where his rifle was laying across his chest.
‘Good that’s still there.’
Bunden thought as he slowly got to his feet. He looked around trying to find where the other two went. He looked up at the ridge and then followed the lines in the bent grass and crushed underbrush. Bunden followed the trail closest to him and found Snow getting groggily to her feet. Bunden rushed over and offered a hand up. Snow initially brushed off the hand before falling back down and accepting the offered help.
After helping Snow to her feet. Bunden went over to the other trail and found Walter entangled with the upper half stuck inside with his lower half outside. Walter must have heard Bunden approaching because he started talking.
“Bunden is that you? Because if it is, ahgg (grunt of pain) we are going to have some fucking words.”
“Yeah, it’s me, and we aren’t going to have any words after this, because I also jumped right after you.”
Walter slightly mollified that Bunden was sharing in the pain let out a swear under his breath so heinous if he was magical it would have been dark magic. Then continued,
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Well, I’ll forgive you if you can get me out of this bush before those deadheads get up here and ass fuck me.”
“Calm down, and hold still you prissy jerry.”
Bunden said as he pulled out his kukri and started using it like a machete. Using it to cut away the thin but prickly branches of the bush. From Walter’s point of view, however, it looked like Bunden was slashing a little too close for comfort.
“Could you not get so damned close, your making me play the spin the wheel on whether I’ll have hands and legs after you pull me out of here!”
“Quit your whining, I’ve used this knife all my life and I’m very proficient in its use. So give yourself better odds by not moving.”
“Alright”
Walter said with a defeated tone. A crunch of a twig breaking behind Bunden made his head spin around. It was Snow, and it seemed like she was on her knees praying? Bunden shrugged and went back to cutting Walter out of the bush.
Ten minutes later, Walter was out of the bush and was brushing himself off, jokingly complaining to Bunden about a little nick on his upper cheek. Bunden told him that any ladies that he meets would appreciate some battle scars.
“Speaking of ladies, Snow you ready to go…”
Bunden’s words tapered off, as Bunden spoke he turned around just in time to see a ray of light burst through the clouds and wash over Snow. Snow seemed to be revitalized by the light. After a few seconds, the light faded away, Snow stood up and she looked pissed (American slang for very angry). Bunden and Walter glanced at each other and their silent conversation went something like this.
Bunden: ‘you going to handle this?’
Walter: ‘why in gods name do you think I want to handle this?’
Bunden: ‘well, you're the one interested.”
Snow’s glare made both men flinch away. For while Walter and Bunden were trained and battle-tested soldiers. Snow was a beautiful angry woman with magical powers, and both of them didn’t want to get torched by a fireball or some other magical BS.
Snow took a breath, probably to start yelling. But lucky for Walter, Bunden took charge. Bunden put up a hand to stop her and started talking.
“Look I know you are angry with us but we are still in yelling distance of those undead freaks on the other side of the ridge line over yonder.”
While he was speaking he nodded in the direction of the village filled with walking dead. Snow’s eyes darkened with fear for a split second as she followed Bunden’s head movement. After the mention of the things on the other side of the ridge line, the fiery light of rage went out of Snow’s eyes.
“Well, since the Yank is the only one with that radio let’s go get him. Plus unless either of you got some extra ammo tucked away somewhere we’re almost out.”
Bunden suggested.
“I’m all for it. I personally don’t feel like going down that ridge line with just a pistol.”
Walter agreed.
“What about you Snow? Can your people wait a few days?”
Bunden questioned.
“If they don’t I’ll kill them.”
Snow answered with a half-hearted attempt at a joke.
“Alright, I’m all packed and ready to go the hell away from here.”
“Amen”
____________________________________________________________________________
Levente watched the green creatures flee. He was being dragged away from the massacre of his people by a guard. He was confused, angry, and he had to admit, a little afraid. His magical barrier hadn’t done anything to stop whatever dark magic they had been using. Levente knew several long-range magical spells but none of them had the speed and power of the ones the green creatures had been using.
The weird part about it is that he didn’t feel any magic passing through his barrier. It was as if they weren’t using magic at all. Levente remembered the same feeling when he was still training in the capital. He thought back to a practical exercise he and his class had with the royal archer core. Levente remembered how arrows did the same thing.
The details from the lecture his teacher gave them afterward was fuzzy at best. Levente would have to look into this. After he put his leg back together.