A band of travellers moved through the forest, a Knight, a Necromancer, an Archer and a knight in training, it was not by fate they had met or chance either, after all it took careful consideration and planning to completely wipe out an entire company leaving only one alive, it being the boy that walked beside them though was quite unbelievable, perhaps the fates had decided that it was not his turn to die, the boy walked beside his newfound acquaintances calmly, hands behind his head as he strolled; laughing and chatting with them

"Aren't you a little bit too trusting?" The Archer, Aldea asked arching an eyebrow

"I just learnt… not everyone's the bad guy" Alister shrugged

"I like this kid" The knight said from underneath his visor

"What nonchalance" The Necromancer scoffed

"You know; I met someone like you, with a bit more attitude though" The knight in training said genuinely, turning slightly to the necromancer

"Nobody is like me" The Necromancer growled

They walked in a Y formation, with Aldea at the front right, Gabriel at the front left, Alister in the middle and Knight behind, Yleina had stolen into the woods for a quick run of the area.

"Yeah yeah" Alister said, he paused then continued "How did you guys meet?"

"You don't want to know" Gabriel said calmly

"I think I do" Alister grinned

"Do you really?" Knight asked

"Uh- sure" Alister nodded

"It was a cold and dark night, colder than most even; I sat by the bar drinking down some watered ale, you see the mood was sombre, there was a war going on, just like this one and so like all the other men in my village I had been conscripted, it was glorious at first, I was going to fight for my king but then we arrived at the war front-" Knight started when he was interrupted

"Let me stop you there, Poor bastard ran from the war to a nearby village, pretended to be a war hero and was getting free drinks on the house, I walked in and immediately sensed a fraud so I called him on his bullshit and we got into an argument that led to a duel, he chickened and tried to buy my good favor and we've been friends ever since" Aldea finished gleefully

"He asked for the story of how we became mercenaries not how you met" Gabriel said rolling his eyes

"I was getting there before I was interrupted" Knight protested glaring at Aldea

"You ran from a war?" Alister asked grimly

"Look, Don't judge me okay, I lost everything in that stupid war, my brothers, all three of em, running around screaming "For glory and valor", the first was hit by an arrow on the first day, died right in front of me, the second had his skull bashed in by a berserker, I couldn't get to him in time… And the third was used as a meat shield for my cowardly general who ran from the battle the moment he sensed he was going to lose" Knight said

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't know" Alister said

"Don't pity me kid, it was a long time ago; I had fled after the defeat, instead of heading back to camp though I rode straight outta there, camping in the nearest village I saw. Figured if I faked it a bit, I might get some free stuff, since I had no coin on me, and then Aldea came in all no nonsense, calling me out on my bullshit and I had to act fast so I offered her a deal, stick with me and she'd get some stuff too, worked for a while till the town got burnt down by raiders, we ran for our dear lives, honestly we were sure we were going to die of starvation when a lone rider rode up and offered us food, he said "I will help you,save you; all you have to do is serve me" We jumped at the offer, half dead and dehydrated, he introduced us to Gabriel and we started out as the Shadow" Knight finished his story grinning

"What happened to him, the lone rider?" Alister scowled, he didn't get what was so promising about being a slave to someone

"He died, it happens" Gabriel snapped

"Oh" Alister said "What about Yleina?" he asked

"Prissy dude just came along as extra muscle, hired him in a town not too far back" Knight said

The rest of the journey was continued in silence, the knight in training was lost in his own world, if he wasn't perhaps he might have noticed the moans that were coming from the forest all around him or heard the shuffling of feet as thousands of the dead walked behind them, maybe the lack of light in the forest contributed to it or it was the fact that he had a ward drawn on the back of his neck, he walked scowling in silence.

************************************************

Yleina saw the lights from the keep a few miles away, he squinted

"{Eagle eyes}" He muttered putting a hand over his right eye, he let his other eye droop close and then opened them, they were now a golden yellow colour, he counted

"One, two, three men on the wall" He muttered to himself, he watched them calmly, standing still for what seemed like hours, he had gone far further away from the group than he thought

'Gabriel, approach carefully from the west, there may be towers, I can't see from this angle' he relayed

'Then get closer' Came the hasty reply

'I cannot. There may be traps, for now I'll maintain my position and watch, if you need help, i will provide it from outside their range' he relayed

'Tch. Fine, the boy's killing me with his incessant blabbering'

He grinned at that, his companion had always preferred the quiet. An hour later, with the setting sun cast a light show through the sky, the rogue had his back to a tree trunk as he sat, he watched the forest animals go about their business as best as they could with the human staring interestedly at them, he was jolted from his position when he heard the screech of the huge gates of the fort, he turned and squinted using his skill again, he saw his team at the gate being stripped of their weapons

"They weren't kidding when they said they were going in the front door" he mumbled.

************************************************

"It is rough being treated like an alien in a place you actually belong-"

"Shut the hell up kid, I asked which company are you in and who the hell are your friends? It's the middle of a goddamned war" A man sat red faced screaming at a young man who looked absolutely pissed and his three companions

"Fourth company sir, under general Saqcui, Knight in training Alister dobwell" The young man replied gritting his teeth

"What kind of shitty name is Alister dobwell? Either way why aren't you back at the keep? You had orders to get to Willow Creek by fortnight and here you are! I'd throw you in solitary if not for the fact that we need more hands urgently" The red-faced man said, he was well muscled and wore armor, he had a short white goatee and purple hair that was pulled back in a short ponytail

"Sir, the entire company was wiped out" Alister said slowly waiting for the man to register what he had just said

"What?" The man paused and stared at the knight in training

"They're all dead sir" Alister repeated, with different wordings this time

"I- That's impossible, the fourth company was three thousand men strong, they couldn't have been - " The man was talking quickly disbelieving, the guards in the room were eyeing the young man and his companions

"I'm the last one" Alister said calmly

"Are you certain?" The man asked as the anger slowly drained from his face, it was replaced with a look of shock and utter loss

"Yes sir" Alister said

The man sat back in his chair at a loss for words, he glanced at Alister and then rubbed at his forehead

"A horrible loss" One of the young mens companion said unapologetic

"And who are you?" The man glanced up at the other calmly

"Gabriel" The young man said

"They're mercenaries, they saved me" Alister added

"You're excused" The man said waving off the guards in the room, they exited almost too quickly knowing the news that was coming was almost to horrific to be heard

"Mercenaries. Why would mercenaries help you?" The man asked

"Think of it as an act of Goodwill" Knight said

"Goodwill, ha. We… We've lost the bloody war" The man said rubbing his temples

"Sir?" Alister blinked

"This is unprofessional of me, but we're all going to die anyway. Willow Creek was our only chance of winning the war, if we could cut their supply routes, dry them out, kill their morale, we could have stood a chance, but the men fighting are weak, starving, dehydrated, we couldn't get more men up there, we will lose the creek and then everything else will fall apart" The man said

"That's not true" Alister said gritting his teeth "All of those people could not have died for nothing" He said annoyed

"They did" The man leaned back in his chair, popped open a drawer, grabbed a bottle of ale and a cup, set them on his table then stared up at the knight in training

"Back when I was a recruit, I remember I had never had my first drink, what about you ?" The man arched his eyebrows

"You're going to give up?" Alister asked angrily

"Of course not" The man chuckled bitterly "I am a general, it's my duty to fall with my men, besides I swore to my king "Till death I will raise your banner", I just didn't think it would come this soon" The general sighed

"Pitiful" Gabriel scoffed

"What are you still doing here? You should run for your lives while you still have the chance. Goodwill. Ha" The general chuckled again as he poured himself a drink

Gabriel glanced at his teammates and turned, walking out the door with long strides, Aldea and King shared a look and then followed him out.

Alister stared at the general for a while then spoke

"I don't drink"

"You should, any day now might be your last" The general said with a small smile

"I-" Alister started when he heard the chiming of bells

"Why's the alarm going off?" The general asked grumpily, he shoved the bottle and glass back in the drawer after a last chug, grabbing his sword from beside his table

"Come boy!" He hollered and rushed out the door

Outside was pure commotion, soldiers ran about, the general grabbed a man by the collar and threw him against the wall

"Get yourself together man! What's going on?!" He screamed

The man struggled for a bit and then froze seeing the look in the others eyes

"The dead!! They're here!!" He yelled back

The general blinked then tossed him to the floor running up the stairs leading to the watch tower, Alister followed hot on his heels.

"What is the meaning of this madness?" He growled as soon as he arrived at the tower, glaring daggers at the watchman

"General. They just showed up!" The watchman said fearfully as he approached

"Who showed up?" The general snarled

"Not who general…what" The watchman huffed

"What?"

"The dead arrive" The watchman said grimly

"How many?" He asked

The man handed him the spyglass

"Dead gods" The general said as he raised the item to his eye, he let his jaw drop and for the first time in years felt fear, he could see them as they poured out from the forest, running towards the keep, thousands of the undead.