Darian continued on his travel along the coastline, travelling much slower as he searched among the flotsam on the beach for more of the purple seaweed. Now he had managed to find one of the vices that he had thought were no longer available to him, he had no intention of going without this coffee substitute he had found.

He had tried eating the other types of seaweed to avoid hunger, but while they did ease the pangs, he had to chew on a lot more of them than expected. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, because they were quite bitter to the taste, and the salt content was high, increasing his thirst when he ate them. For this reason, he only ate them when absolutely necessary, and usually only when he had taken a break to make water to drink. This left him constantly hungry, but he was leaving his last strips of dried meat for an emergency.

The sun, and its heat didn’t help him, and after a day of walking in it, his skin was coming off in large strips, the sweat that poured off him making the raw flesh burn. Thankfully he could use his flask to heal all this each night, or by now he would be in absolute agony. If there had been another graveyard along his path, he would have charged into it without a second thought, just to be able to experience cold once more.

From where he had first found the purple seaweed, he had walked for a further week, and had managed to find enough of the seaweed to last him for another month, if he was careful. In all this time, he also still had not found any other signs of habitation, or life, but his map which always showed his current location, let him know he was not far away from the castle icon on it. Darian was still hoping there would be help for him there, when he finally arrived.

He had carefully been checking his location against the map icon, and he thought he had another days travel before he was in sight of the castle. He couldn’t wait to get there, the trip along the coast had been really boring with nothing to look at except the water and the sand. Sure, there had been trees, but dead and dry trees, without any foliage, was not something that excited him.

If there had been another village somewhere along the way, even another ruin like the one he started in, he would have stopped for a while. At least then he could have a break from the sun and the walking. He might even find something of use to him, something like more real food, not this seaweed diet he seemed to be on. This place may have made him a lot younger, but the home he was in at least provided something considered edible.

Another thing that concerned him was he had yet to see another menhir, and had no opportunity to reset that spawn thing, so knew if he died, he would have to start again at the ruined village, right back at the beginning of all this. That was one thing he knew would tip him over the edge, wasting all this time for nothing, and having to do it all again.

It was almost as if the gods had heard his complaint, for as he topped the next sand dune he could make out a stone pathway leading inland, and following its path with his eyes, he could make out the top of a tall, standing stone sticking out above a grassless hill. It was a sight for sore eyes, which reminded him, he needed to take another dip in the ocean to wash away some of this sweat. But first, he decided, he needed to get to that stone.

Darian trotted over to the pathway and started walking along it, more of the menhir coming into view the further up the hill he walked. When he finally reached the top Darian stopped, the sight before him causing this pause. The menhir stood in a slight depression between two hills, with four small buildings surrounding it. It wasn’t the buildings that made him pause, but the creature that stood in-between them, next to the menhir itself.

Like all the other creatures Darian had seen so far, this one was also an undead creature, but not a skeleton. It was dressed in flesh, if that is what it could be called, for it hung off it in strips and looked like it was rotting. A nasty suspicion ran through his mind, and he confirmed it when he cast an inspecting gaze upon it.

Name: Zombie Guardian

The Zombie Guardian is considered as one of the lesser undead within Eternia, but its ability to turn any being bitten by itself into another zombie increases its danger as an opponent. Unprepared attackers can easily find themselves overwhelmed by increasing numbers of this creature if it is not defeated in time. Zombie plague, the disease carried by zombies, can only turn true citizens of Eternia into another zombie, Travelers will only be afflicted with a debilitating disease that will lower their statistics by 25% until the plague is healed. Zombies are low in intelligence due to the effects of their own disease, and will attack mindlessly any living being that approaches them.

Level: 2

Health: 20/20

Armor: 4

Damage: 1 to 6 (Hands), 2- 6 + disease (Bite)

Special: All damage taken by zombie will incur a 50% penalty unless blow is to its head. Weapons that use crushing force to cause damage incur a further 10% penalty.

Damn, thought Darian, he had always hated those zombie films, and here he was, in his own little production, a private showing for one who didn’t want it. Quickly, before it noticed him, he dredged up every fact he knew about zombies, and knew instantly that he was in trouble. The only weapon he possessed was the mace, a weapon fairly useless against zombies unless he managed a really lucky strike that took its head off, or at the very least, crushed its skull.

Then another thought struck him. He remembered the part that said ‘can only turn true citizens into another zombie.’ And this really worried him. Wasn’t he now a true citizen of Eternia, and did this mean he could end up being a mindless rotting corpse if he lost, Bugger losing, if the thing managed to sink its teeth into him, and he had nothing at all to protect him but the skimpy cloth of his shirt.

Darian didn’t need to make the decision to either run or fight, because he had been standing there too long and the creature had noticed him and had started to shamble towards him. Darian felt a sharp spike of fear go through him, but it just as quickly went away because he saw something that puzzled him. It was the zombie, it moved like a one hundred year old cripple, in other words, just like he used to, back on Earth. This was nothing like the films at all, in those they moved quicker than this.

Well, I’m not going to let this advantage go to waste, he thought, pulling out his mace. Twirling it around in a figure eight pattern, he eyes the zombie as it hobbled slowly up the road, planning his attack on this thing. If it stayed as sluggish as it currently was showing, he would have no problems defeating it. The weapon penalty would definitely make it drawn out, but unless he acted stupid, or the creature was somehow playing possum, it would be a walk in the park.

Darian approached it, taking his time in case he needed to change his tactics, and also to see if its behavior changed in any way as he drew closer. Neither happened, so he swung the mace low, a one handed blow to one of its knees, and it crumpled beneath the strike. From the numbers that flashed up, it looked like he had caused it virtually no damage at all, but the result was what he expected to happen.

As it landed onto its side, its eyes still fixed on Darian, he backhanded another blow directly into its face, causing the already rotten flesh to split and slide from one cheek, displaying the yellow teeth beneath. The creature totally ignored the blow and started to push itself back up with its arms. Then the smell appeared, the disgusting aroma of rotting meat that had been left out in the sun for too long, a stench so bad that Darian was forced backwards from the thickness of it. At first Darian thought he would vomit, then he was certain he would as bile rose and burnt the back of this throat.

He stepped back and turned his head to one side as the burning stream of stomach acid sprayed out, taking with it the remains of his last seaweed banquet and splattering onto the ground. Once finished, his stomach kept up a series of painful spasms in a vain attempt to find something else to eject, but the cupboard was bare. Coughing and spitting to remove the foul taste from his throat, he wiped away the drool from his lips with the back of one hand, then returned his now tear filled eyes back onto the zombie. It had managed to get back to its feet while he was indisposed.

Spitting one more time, he prodded the zombie in the chest with the head of the mace, pushing it backwards, then proceeded to send a series of overhead blows raining down on its head and shoulders, each one taking a portion of health away from it.

In the end it took five strikes to its head to finally finish it off, the last one crushing its skull and spattering its brains out, another disgusting thing that caused his stomach to rebel. It made him think of a tube of toothpaste that someone had stomped on.

You have defeated the Zombie Guardian

You receive 25 experience

Current Experience 165 / 200

This announcement let him know it was finally dead and he watched until its twitching had ceased. Only then did he step away to get some fresh air, sucking in deep lungful’s in an attempt to remove the nasty aftertaste, not only of his spew, but also of the zombie stench which seemed to stick to him like glue. Scrubbing at his face, he looked at the corpse to see if it had any loot. Yes, he saw the glowing ember, and thankfully it was on the body, meaning he didn’t have to interfere with the corpse to get to it.

Reaching down, he plucked it up, but all it contained was a small amount of mixed coins, something he was still ignorant about. It also had another benefit for him, one he didn’t think he would get from a zombie.

Congratulations, you have recovered the bones of a lost soul of Capalia. You can find these remains in your inventory. Collect another ninety six to receive a hidden Quest.

You receive 10 Experience.

Current Experience 175 / 200

He tossed the coins into his bag, slightly annoyed he hadn’t gained anything really useful, but also a little thankful, for his small bag was almost full. Dropping the mace into it, he examined the contents

Meneas’s Small Bag (11 Slots): Reduces weight by 50%

Coin (does not occupy slot space)

Copper ( 45 ) : Bronze ( 5 ) : Silver ( 1 ) : Electrum ( 0 )

Gold ( 0 ) : Platinum ( 0 ) : Eternium ( 0 )

Contents

Slot 1: Firestone of Vallinas Slot 2: Flask of Cyana

Slot 3: Malantines Wooden Mace Slot 4: Helmet, Plain Bowl

Slot 5: Potion of Minor Healing x 2 Slot 6: Dried Meat x 2

Slot 7: Lost Soul Bones x 4 Slot 8: Purple Athrancian Seaweed x 30

Slot 9: Cauldron, Small x 2 Slot 10: **** EMPTY ****

Slot 11: **** EMPTY ****

He hoped that he could find a bigger bag, if they existed, because he had almost filled this one, and he hadn’t found that much so far. He didn’t fancy throwing away anything he already had to make room for something else, he supposed if it came down to it, the helmet would be the first thing he would discard. Sighing with resignation, he closed the bag and got up. It was time to go to the menhir, then he could return to his travel.

The first thing he did after arriving at the menhir was to place his hand on it and set his respawn point. Once he had done that he gave the surrounding buildings a quick search, but three of them were empty, their single square rooms filled with nothing but dust and sand. What they had once been used for was a mystery to Darian, because they were unadorned within, as well as without. They were just small square boxes, each windowless and with a single opening facing towards the menhir.

The fourth building, Darian found, was not as empty as the others. Looking in the doorway, he expected to see another empty box shaped room, but was surprised and alarmed when he spotted a black, oblong shaped alter standing in the center of the room, the floor littered with skeletal remains. He quickly ducked back out, in fear of meeting another of the cowled creatures that had slain him before, the memory of it making him shiver.

Standing with his back against the outside wall, he listened carefully, but could not detect any noise or movement from inside, then slowly he took another peek within, prepared to pull his head back at the slightest perception of a threat. The room hadn’t changed, and nothing stood behind the alter, or near it, the room was just as he had seen it. He then concentrated on the black alter.

Item: Lesser Alter of Nekkir-Amon

This black alter is one of the one hundred Lesser Alters of Nekkir-Amon spread among the lands. Once a blessed alter of Athras, the Lesser God of Travellers, it was seized by the minions of the dead god Nekkir-Amon and twisted to his purpose. As long as this alter remains, the undead scourge that plagues this area will remain. If you pray at this alter, you will become a follower of Nekkir-Amon and receive great powers from him. As long as one alter dedicated to Nekkir-Amon remains undestroyed, he can never be purged from Eternia.

The same description as the last one, he realized, with only one difference. This alter once belonged to a different god, a lesser god at that, and one he had not heard of. He had no intention of entering the building, and decided he needed to find out more about these alters, they may be something that could help him find a way to get back to New Eden. Quietly he backed away from the doorway.

Returning back to the beach, feeling a little relieved that he had finally managed to find a new respawn point, Darian dropped everything onto the sand and took that dip into the ocean he had promised himself. In all the times he had bathed, he had not been threatened by anything else dangerous after his encounter with the squid thing, and he assumed that there mustn’t be many of these, or that they lived in deeper waters.

Feeling a little more refreshed after his swim, he returned to his boring journey along the coast.

…..

Darian knew he must be getting closer to the castle as the lands he passed displayed some differences from those he had walked past during his travel, with these divided up with low, crumbling stone walls, much like those used to separate the land into fields. From the state they were in, he could also see that these fields had not been used for a long, long time, as the ground in all of them had that empty, baked earth appearance that affected the land everywhere else he had been.

The sun was low on the horizon, with about one hour of daylight left before it set. Darian decided he had enough time to climb to the top of the next hill in front of him before he took a break for the night and trudged onwards, each step he took sending up a puff of dried earth. As he had his head down, watching where he placed his feet, Darian didn’t see the castle until he had reached the top, and raised his head. It was an amazing sight, and a welcome one to him as well, and Darian sat down to take in the sight, relieved that his journey was nearly over, and maybe he would find someone to help him at last.