“No…” the warlock whispered.

“Why, what is it?” Kari asked.

But then, a red glow from the ground around them. Or more specifically, from the bodies of the deceased, which had begun to glow with strange red light. Glowing crimson runes appeared all over their skin.

“Runald? What’s going on?” Kari heard someone ask the warlock in poorly-concealed panic.

Kari didn’t know either. He and the knights gathered looked on in horror as the dead began to move, limbs contorting, twitching, reforming horrifically. Wounds were mended, spilt guts were reclaimed and sewn back in by an invisible force. Finally, spectral red light returned to the eyes of the fallen, regardless of uniform.

“Zombies! Form up!” Runald shouted.

The fatigued knights jumped to attention as best they could, despite their injuries. Upon hearing Runald’s shout, several knights pre-emptively struck down the reanimated dead before they could even get up. Ghouls, zombies, and other such monsters were common fare in Apolaphia’s cursed places; every adventurer worth their salt knew how to deal with them, in theory. But, training or not, the dwindled and wounded knights would not be able to stem the rising tide of undead like this. They needed rest and resupply.

And based on the runes carved into the skin of the deceased, Runald saw that these rune-encrusted zombies were far more dangerous than what an adventurer would expect from the typical dungeon-crawling fare. They were stronger, faster, and more resilient; A very, very big problem unless they could find a way back into Al Dherjza.

“Can’t you cast a spell or something?”

“I’m all out of reagent!

“Open the gate!”

“OPEN THE GATE!”

“PLEASE! ANYONE! OPEN THE GATE!”

Desperate shouts rose to the heavens from those trapped outside Al Dherjza’s battlements.

A most unsettling sound could be heard by all those gathered: a scratching of corpses trying desperately to scramble up the sides of the great ditch at the base of the battlements. Able and wounded bodies worked to keep their hands at bay, batting them back with Gift and weapon alike.

Even more disturbingly, the same scratching sound came from the other side of the gate.

Hearing this, a shadow fell over the nearby knights’ exhausted faces.

“Shit…” one murmured.

“Don’t give up! We have to buy as much time as we can!” Runald replied, trying to raise their trembling spirits once more, even as he fought with flying discs of razor-sharp iron manipulated by his Gift.

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Kari tried to look past the chaotic throng of bodies, towards the front line. He caught a glimpse of a surging tide of glowing red eyes and gulped anxiously.

Suddenly the clawing from the other side of the gate stopped.

“Stand back!” a muffled voice called.

“Discipline!” Runald reminded the assembled knights, worried about a stampede. But the knights were far too disciplined to stampede, even after they had been driven to such a desperate state.

The gates began to creak, opening outwards.

Kari recognised the man standing there.

Leon.

The knights hurried through, stepping over the chopped-up remains of the zombies Leon had cut through. Beyond, the fighters from Sarigold stood fighting against a tide of undead from within the city. It wasn’t over yet.

“Looks like I owe my life to you again,” Kari said, greeting Leon. Leon walked Kari to the side, clasping a hand on his shoulder.

“Good to see you again, Kari.” Leon replied

“Did you find your sister?” Kari asked him.

“No. I heard she was on the front lines, so I came here.”

“Who are you all?” Runald interjected.

“We’re from Sarigold. Kari here helped create a teleportation circle for us.” Leon explained. “I’m looking for my sister, Lumie.”

Kari wasn’t sure if his hearing was permanently damaged by the repeated explosions he had subjected them to. Did Leon just say that Lumie was his sister? Was Lumie a common name in the Great Basin?

“Lumie?” Runald asked in confirmation. Finding it in Leon’s stern nod, Runald pointed back towards the throng. “She’s with us… if she’s still alive”

Leon and Kari both stared into the passing crowd anxiously.

A blonde, bloodied spearwoman of average height and lean, muscular build caught their gaze. Her eyes widened in recognition upon seeing Leon’s beaming face. She pushed through the crowd, drawing some irate complaints which she ignored, and leapt into her brother’s arms, kissing him on the cheek. Leon caught her and spun around to control the momentum of their reunion.

“Leon!” Lumie exclaimed happily.

“Lumie! You have no idea how relieved I am.” Leon said, returning a kiss on her forehead and putting her down.

Runald was taking stock of their situation, noting how many of their number were injured or otherwise. He wore a faint smile on his face upon hearing the sibling’s reunion.

Lumie noticed Kari standing next to Leon with some sense of purpose. “Who are you?” she asked.

“My name is Kari. I’m a… friend of a certain Ellenian you might remember. His name is Elwin.”

Lumie’s eyes grew wide, her mouth slightly agape in disbelief. “Elwin?! He sent you here?”

“Not quite. He’s on his way… It’s a long story, but to keep it short, I owe him…” Kari couldn’t help but sigh with relief. “ADAM’s arse, Finally, a good stroke of luck for once; I can’t believe that I actually found you.” He exclaimed.

Ignoring Kari’s proclamation of gratitude to the universe, Lumie replied: “Why-… well, where is he now?”

“Lifting the final seal on ADAM’s Labyrinth. It could be open any minute now.”

Runald, Leon and Lumie were all taken by surprise at this news.

“How do you know?” Runald asked Kari.

“The Chief Mage herself told me, she was with the King,” Kari said simply. It would be too much to explain how he had been at the scene of Carmen’s murder.

Silence fell over the group.

It was Runald that spoke first. “Then we need to secure the Labyrinth Entrance beneath the city…. But with the dead raised by Tenebria Coronum, the catacombs will be swarming. And we’re in no state to fight. Our wounded need to reach the hospital. And the rest of us need to resupply. We’re sitting ducks as we are.”

“Reaching the hospital might not be so easy.” Leon said, “The dead are popping up all over from the catacombs. We’ll need to fight our way through.”

“Hmm… Well, at least the Incandestine forces will be having as much trouble as us. No one can escape from the Coronum’s greedy gaze.” Runald said.

“We can try to stop by apothecaries and stores on the way. We may be able to scrounge up some supplies.” Lumie suggested.

“Or we might come across shipments from the warehouse district that have been ambushed. Leon and I came across such a scene earlier.” Kari added.

“No time to waste. Let’s go.” Runald said.