The campsite with the two dead bodies, are suddenly now being approached by a group of soldiers on horseback. The one leading the charge is a man with short red hair. He’s wearing splint mail armor colored brown, bearing the same rose symbol on the man’s upper right side. He is wearing a forest green cloak over his armor, also covering his sheathed claymore.

The soldiers following behind him are wearing the same uniform jackets and coat showing that three of them are warriors and one magician. Exception is, they’re all wearing forest green colored clothing.

Two of the warriors are brandishing long spears, and the third carrying a cross bow on the saddle. The mage however, whom is the only female of the group, is holstering a short wooden rod, with the top of it spiraling around a small green orb. All the horses they’re riding in with are all brown thoroughbred. The leader of the group gets off his mounts and draws his claymore as he looks around with his eyes. He stands to be six feet tall and 5 inches. He’s well-built and has a clean shaven face. The two spearmen split up, one standing between the leader, holding onto the leader’s reins and the magician. While the other, stands behind the marksmen. The marksmen readies his cross bow, holds it at low ready and waits for orders as he keeps watch of the vicinity. 

The magician mounts off the horse, hands her reigns to the spearman before her. She stands to be about five feet and four inches tall. She lowers her hood to reveal that she has black long hair tied up in a bun, pale skin with freckles and brown eyes before she closes them. She pulls out her rod and lifts it up right in front of her head, and starts to hum for a few seconds. She opens her eyes and looks at the leader of the group as his focus is still to their surroundings.

“I only sense the life force of us and our mounts within the one hundred and twenty three foot zone.” She says with words of caution.

“Only us? Nothing else? Not even birds nor field mice? What about bugs?” The red haired man asked surprised.

“Nothing sergeant, this too worries me… I’ll keep focusing…” The magician answered, while recovering her resolve.

The sergeant looked to both of the spearmen and nodded his head, in unison both of them answered, “Yes sergeant Reeves!” Then split up, one galloped to the north passed the campsite, after handing his reigns to the marksmen. The other galloped south but not too far. Both stopped at the same time then started to circle to their left at the same time keeping watch of their vicinity. The horses that the marksman is keeping the reins on started to feel unease.

The magician opens her eyes and she narrowed them in frustration. “I still can’t sense a soul besides ours, this is too weird. Even the smell of the corpses should bring flies to this spot, since hours ago.”

“Master magician Gibbons, do not let this cloud your judgment. I can tell that your instincts are telling you that this is a trap. Just remember that rage can cloud other paths that you can clearly see. We know you’re doing your best, just relax a bit and think of other options. Better yet, think of it this way… If you as an enemy mage keeping a low profile, how would you set up a trap in a place such as this?” Reeves asked trying to unnerve Gibbons.

She ponders for a moment and looks up to the corpses as if she had an idea on her mind. “The bodies!” She said with revelation. She goes into the same trance as before but with stillness in her mind.

After a minute has passed, she lowered her rod and looks to Reeves and gives him a warm smile. “I detect a faint hint of magic on the bodies; it appears to be in the same spot…”

Reeves returns the warm smile. “Good job master magician, now let us proceed with caution.”

Both Reeves and Gibbons walk meticulously towards the corpses of the comrades. They both peer over the first one on the right which is laying on its left side. Reeves uses his claymore as a tool to light touch the side of the guardsmen’s chainmail armor and pull him over, revealing his chest as his back rolls onto the ground.

“The same spot as the first two bodies back at town. Only difference, this one has bruises all over his body…” Gibbons said with a gloom look on her face. She stands up and walks to the other corpse and inspects that one as well.

Reeves continues looking at the first corpse and closed his eyes, mumbling to himself. “Farewell Private Cawthorn for we will find the murderer and bring them to justice! Your death will not be in vain!”

Gibbons looks towards Reeves. “Sergeant, this body has the same cut and bru-!” her sentence was cut short as the corpse lifts its torso up and grabs hold of Gibbons for a bite on her right shoulder.

She screams loudly not because of pain, but the sudden surprise of the attack. She thinks she’s in pain due to the surprise but in fact the armor is actually preventing the zombie bite to go deeper to touch her skin. The same time the marksman just reacted to her scream, he was about to unload a bolt onto the zombie’s head, but the horse he was holding onto spooked out and ran back down south towards the town. Pulling him off of his horse and releasing the bolt into the sky, where it lands into the river at some point. His horse soon follows after the ones in the south.

As for Reeves’, before he could jump in and pile drive the zombie’s head in with his claymore, the corpse of Cawthorn rises up to lung for a bite on him. Unfortunately for the zombie, Reeves’ quick reaction moved his claymore the sooner to block off the zombie’s lung.

“This thing is strong, but I’m the better!” He says while winning the contest of strength, he shoved the zombie back into the ground. He steps back and swung his claymore in one swing, and off goes the zombie’s head.

He hears a galloping sound of his northern flank spearman rushing into action towards Gibbon’s struggle. “Their heads! Aim for the zombie’s head!” Reeves shouted out.

With enough momentum for the spearman on his side, he charged with his iron-spear and drove it into the zombie’s head but did not cut it off; instead he dragged the zombie with him and released his grip out of reflex. Gibbons regained some form of composure and out of irritation from this embarrassing charade, she pointed her rod towards the spear of the rising limping headed zombie, and released a bolt of lightning that exploded the zombie’s head into red gunk. Sending the spear flying and landing right next to the unconscious marksman.

Gibbons is breathing heavily with her hair a bit of a mess from her neatly tied bun. The southern spearman shows up to pick up the spear and handed it to the northern one, and unmounts to check up on the marksmen.

Reeves walks between Gibbons and the three soldiers. “Is everyone alright, anyone injured?” He looks at Gibbons to find the bite mark did however scratch up and chafed but she seems fine just her adrenaline taking its time to go down.

He looks to his right at his men, watching them checking the marksmen’s head and pouring a vial’s red liquid contents into his mouth.

“Private Johnson is alive, just out for now but his bruising will take some time to go away. Sergeant!” The man that wasn’t pouring the vial responded.

Reeves nods in approval. “Good, Gibbons! After you take a breather, can you tell me what those zombies were about? Why would they be lying in wait, and how come you didn’t notice their magical aura from before?”

She takes a deep breathe in and out, closes her eyes, waits for a few seconds and opens them. She starts to curl her back hair up into a bun and speaks calmly. “It is true that I did not detect anything for a moment, besides the cuts below their hearts. As soon as I called out to you that’s when I felt that slight detection but at the same time…” She started to breathe faster after recalling the incident. She calmed down when she finished her bun.

“I have seen zombies in the southern Unum plains wander around aimlessly. Never lying in wait for a surprise attack like this and the way you said that, it’s as if someone definitely staged this as a trap! Is there magic such as this that exists?” Reeves asked trying to pry some illumination to this predicament.

“There’s many spells out there that are lost in the ages or have yet to be invented. Magic, according to some scholars, is alive. As for spells that work in a similar manner such as this, there have been delayed time spells or triggered spells. Usually to do with explosions or messages, so it is possible one or the other was placed upon these zombies…” Gibbons said while pondering why this was set likes this. Then she hastily pulls her rod out and concentrates for a few seconds, then opens her eyes to count the soldiers and the horses around.

“What is it?! You detect something?!” Reeves asked out of alarm.

“No… Just the right amount of us here… Including the horses… Still no other life forms around…” Gibbons said out of relief, thinking that this isn't a surprise ambush in waiting.

“Ummm, Sergeant and Master Magician… there’s something strange out there that might interest you or maybe nothing…” The Spearman holding both horse reins said like he’s walking on broken glass with open feet.

“Speak your mind Private Koleman, any hints and clues can be useful to us right about now.” Reeves said with charismatic charm, while Gibbons gives Koleman a stern stare hinting the thought, ‘This better be important’.

Looking at both he still feels the same nervous feeling. “The horses that ran off, I can barely see them in the distance, it appears that they’re making a b-line to the western woods instead of the path we came from…”

Both Reeves and Gibbons looked at each other with the same thought and words, “The town!” They’re both on the same track and they know it, they even couldn’t help but smile it.

They both walked towards Koleman for the horses. “The two of you stay here; keep an eye out for Private Johnson. When he returns, go ahead and carry both bodies back to the town. Oh and don’t worry, they shouldn’t be moving around anymore, they’re dead for sure.” Reeves said with assurance as the two spearmen nod in unison at Reeves’ orders.

“I can’t believe something this small was a great diversion for us, leading us away from something far greater going on in town… If we make haste, we shouldn’t be too late.” Gibbons said in a calm, stoic manner.

“I leave this task to you two, as for me and Gibbons…” Reeves’ horse rears up on its hind legs and neighs. “We be off to town to make sure the civilians are safe!” He said as his horse lands and then they ride off into the distance with a “Yah!”.

After a moment Koleman asked the other spearman, “You think Reeves will be safe with Gibbons around?”

The other without turning his head to Koleman and answered. “Gibbons? Yeah yeah, sure. He’ll be safe, she actually has a thing for him.”

Koleman still staring off into the distance. “I dunno if that’s a good thing or a bad thing heh.” They both continue to stare as they nod in unison, watching the clouds, starting to darken up.