I ignored the confused murmurs of the crowd and knelt beside the shocked girl. Her character tab identified her as Abigail Frost. “Abigail, can you hear me?” I asked, taking her trembling hand.

She didn’t respond to my question. The trussed woman had been freed and came running over, almost knocking me aside to get to the girl. Her name was Eleanor Frost, and the obvious relationship clicked into place. “She’s your daughter?”

Eleanor glowered at me. “She’s not a witch.”

“I never said she was.”

“But you…?”

“I’m not a witch either, I’m a paladin. I’ve been sent to help.”

That word caught Eleanor’s attention. “Impossible! We haven’t had an order of paladins in Tulahr for centuries.”

“I’m from somewhere else,” I replied, figuring it was better to be vague. The people of this time weren’t as advanced and enlightened as Liza and the folk in Osterland. Their attention hadn’t spread beyond the spiritual to larger questions about the universe itself. I was even more likely to end up staked and toasted if I tried to explain my dimension hopping antics. “It’s true. If that crazy woman had given me a chance, I’d have explained everything.”

Her attention alternated between myself and her child. Fingering the damp, charred dress, she asked, “I saw her burning and it ripped my heart in two. But I can find no wounds.”

I held up my hands. “Paladin.”

“Is that how you healed her?”

“It is,” I agreed.

“And the spell that allowed you to move in the blink of an eye, I’ve never heard of paladins who could do that.”

“I’m something else. Shall we get Abigail inside? Away from all the people and fires? I think she’s had enough heat for one night.”

She did a doubletake at my impossible knowledge and the defences were immediately back up. “How do you know her name?” she demanded.

“I just know. The same as I know your name’s Eleanor Frost.”

She cradled her daughters head protectively. “I suppose you were sent too? To kill her or take her away from me?”

“Lady, I have no idea who either of you are. Let’s get you inside and then I need to find whoever’s in charge here. I’ve got a few hundred zombies that need killing. We can talk later about what the heck is going on.”

She eyed me suspiciously. Considering a group of fanatics had just tried to torch her daughter, I couldn’t blame her. I made to help the girl, but she seemed to come out of her fugue. Looking at her scorched dress and uninjured legs, she turned to me. “You saved me.”

“It’s kind of what I do,” I said, offering her a hand.

She took it and I pulled her upright. “Thank you.”

Eleanor wrapped a loving arm around her shoulders. Catching sight of someone, she motioned toward them. “That’s Layton Mitchell. He’s the town mayor.”

I looked at the man. He was in his early forties, plump and animated. He was addressing someone in full plate armour, arms flailing.

“I’ll deal with him shortly,” I said. “Let’s get you home.”

The crowd was content to mill in the square and gossip about the impossible sights they’d just witnessed. They parted respectfully as we moved away from the fires, still unsure about the threat I posed. The streets we shuffled down were mostly empty except for the dog which I’d fed who also kept a respectful distance.

“How did you get inside the town through all those creatures lurking at the gates? Or have you been here the whole time?”

I wasn’t about to tell the frazzled woman I’d flown in as a bird. “It’s just another one of my skills. Now that we’re alone, how about you tell me why that crazy bitch was trying to hurt Abigail?”

“I prefer Abby, sire,” said the teenager. “And it’s because…”

“Hush now! The paladin doesn’t need to hear of our troubles.”

“Mother, you shouldn’t feel ashamed. Your love was real. It matters not that you weren’t wed to father.”

“It matters to God, and it most certainly matters to The Seven.”

I wasn’t going to press too hard following their recent tribulations, but I needed to know who I’d pissed off. “The Seven? Who’re they?”

“They are the priests of Tulahr. Blessed by Our Lord, they act as His emissaries in the mortal world. Six holy brothers under Broderick, their High Priest.”

“And that woman?”

“Priestess Selene, one of the witchfinders of The Seven. Ever since our land became blighted with this evil, they have sought out heretics and those they feel are responsible for this plague.”

“Is that why they came for Abby? They feel she has some part in this?”

Mother and daughter exchanged glances, but before they could answer a man called after us. “Pardon me, hero! Can I steal a moment of your time?”

It was Layton, the town mayor, closely followed by a sizeable group of guards.

I let go of the women and moved to protect them, equipping my weapons. “If you’re looking for trouble, you’ll find more than you can handle,” I warned. “If you think you’re returning her to the stake, you’ll not see daylight again.”

He was huffing and puffing by the time he reached our little trio. “You’re mistaken… in your assumption. I merely wanted a moment of your time. Perhaps over a goblet of wine?”

I stared at him for long seconds, but he seemed genuine. None of the men gathered around were tensing for combat. Their swords were still sheathed. “I’ve got to get the ladies home and see to their protection. You can follow us if you want, just leave the heavy mob behind or I’ll start to get angry.”

“Once again you mistake… my intentions,” he leaned on his knees and took a deep breath. “I’ve tasked Captain Cole with their safety. He and his men will ensure no harm comes to them, you have my word.”

I looked over the guardsmen and found the plated individual among them. “Cole?”

He bowed slightly. “Yes, sire.”

“You do realise you’re all betraying The Seven right now?” I asked.

Layton glanced around nervously, worried about being overheard. “What I witnessed this night is inexplicable. My mother used to lull me to sleep with tales of heroes who rose to do battle with purest evil. Pardon my rudeness, but I overheard you name yourself paladin. Is that true?”

“It is,” I replied.

He clapped his hands in delight. “Then God still smiles upon us.”

“You could say that.” Once again, I wasn’t going to go down the rabbit hole of explaining my cosmic sponsors. The minimal display of my powers had already been enough to sway the superstitious.

“I know you’ve only recently been attacked by her people, but you should seek an audience with Selene and explain your origins. I know she’ll be keen to support you and take word of your arrival to The Seven and her highness.”

“Maybe after I’ve put down the zombies,” I replied. I was still too furious with her actions to want the priestess anywhere near me.

“But they can’t be put down. No matter the extent of their injuries, they still keep coming.”

“Even their parts keep coming,” grunted Cole.

“They can’t keep coming if they’re reduced to ash. If you spent less of your wood on burning children, you might have enough to help me incinerate what remains.”

Layton looked away in shame.

“How could you go along with it?” I demanded.

“Forgive me, hero, but they are sent by the queen. They operate under her authority. Who am I to refuse Her Majesty?”

“A man!” I snapped. “Someone who does what’s right!”

“I’d lose my head,” he mumbled.

“You’re going to lose everything if I can’t kill Hamon Dred and bring this thing to an end.”

I noticed Eleanor recoiled at my words. Before I could probe any further, she brought us to a standstill near a tiny little one-up-one-down home. The door had been broken in, and she looked at the damage. “Looks like we’re doing without a lock for the time being.”

“You won’t need it,” promised Layton. “My men will watch over you.”

“After you’ve already led Selene right to this very door?” Eleanor sneered.

His face dropped again. “You know I had no choice.”

“But now you do? Will the queen see it that way? You may still lose your head when the priestess returns with news of her failure and your part in it.”

He blanched a little and massaged his neck as if already feeling the axe’s sharp bite. “But now we can show Her Majesty the holy paladin. She will see my choice was the right one.”

I left them to argue and pulled Cole aside. “You’re a soldier, a man of honour, yes?”

He nodded. “I am.”

“Then protect them with your life until I get back. Can you do that for me?”

“Aye, sire, I can do that. Pardon me for asking, but do you intend to fight the undead outside?”

“Fight, kill, then burn them.”

“And eventually Dred himself?”

“And everything he’s summoned. It’s why I’m here.”

This seemed to fill him with fresh pride and he stood a little taller. “When our families started to march over the hill still dressed in their burial shrouds, I thought we were lost.”

“Then I’m sorry for what I need to do to them,” I replied. “I wish there was another way.”

“Worry not, sire. I know the vessels scratching at the walls aren’t my true kin. Their souls are already in Heaven.”

“They are,” I confirmed. “Watch them well. I’ll be back.”

“It will be done.”

Layton was waiting for me as the men took up position inside and out. “I still can’t believe you’re here. In the flesh. A true paladin.”

“I need information, not simpering,” I said, marching off toward the largest concentration of red dots.

“Ask and I shall answer, sire.”

I must admit, it was nice to have started off in the world without the threat of torture hanging over me. Randulf had made me earn his trust, but Layton was following me like a lost puppy. Meanwhile, the actual lost puppy was also following, staying close to the shadows.

“How long has this uprising been going on? The dead walking and all the other stuff?”

“Word travels slowly in Tulahr, sire. It could be months, it could be years. We aren’t important enough a settlement to have a pigeon keeper for messages. The first we knew of Hamon Dred’s fall from grace was when the queen’s couriers brought word he was now under sentence of death. By that time, terrified travellers were finding whole villages abandoned beneath the forest’s shadow, south of Bloodfang Citadel. It was as if the people had just disappeared. There were no bodies anywhere to be found.”

“Tell me about the citadel. It’s where I need to reach.”

He looked at me with pity, and I knew it was well-placed. “Well, sire, it was once the seat of power in Tulahr. Many centuries in the past, built when the dwarves lived in these lands. It was surrounded by forest as far as they eye could see, and home to vast packs of wolves. King Richard the 4th had an affinity for the animals. Some say he was a druid, but that’s purely speculation.”

“You said dwarves?”

“Aye, sire. They’ve long since left these shores after their uprising. Most of the castles and fortresses you’ll encounter exist by their hand. Richard was betrayed by the dwarven king Sadreck Kragghewer. A huge deposit of gold was found beneath the mountains. Legend has it that the dwarves felt slighted by the offer of an even split. It was their blood and sweat that had found the treasure, and they wanted more. They withdrew from Tulahr, but returned with a powerful army.”

“What happened?”

“Very few of the many thousands to march even made it to the mountainside keep. It was the wolves, you see. They harried the dwarves at every step, killing, tearing, eating. Kragghewer was so demoralised he immediately surrendered and offered his life for the freedom of his remaining kin. Richard had never wanted the war in the first place and banished them all, Kragghewer included. It was the end of the dwarves in our kingdom, and the end of Bloodfang Citadel as the king’s home.”

“How so?”

“Any affinity he’d had with the animals was gone. They had changed during the weeks of hunting. They were no longer content with the game in the forest. They’d developed a taste for meat that walked on two legs.”

“Oh dear.”

“Indeed. The roads were beset with attacks. Food and provisions couldn’t get through. The king was under a siege of his own making. It took most of the Tulahr army to fight their way through to rescue him from starvation. Twenty thousand had marched north, and only five thousand made it back with their king, not that it did much good. The constant howling had broken him. Weeks and weeks of no sleep except what could be taken when exhaustion became too much to bear. The scrolls say he spent the remainder of his days locked in his tower, mimicking their cries all through the day and night.”

It was bad enough being dragged from sleep by my canine companions after getting a full seven hours. I couldn’t imagine what weeks of deprivation could do. Putting that aside, I needed to know everything about the threat we faced. “Are the wolves still there?”

“I couldn’t rightly say, sire. They certainly were after the king was rescued. Years of raids by the wolves saw the entire region sealed off and shunned. It took many more before people felt safe to settle the lands and begin farming again. If they still roam the forests, no one has seen fit to tell anyone of it. They’re the stuff of legend. A tale to tell naughty children. Behave, or the Bloodfang wolves will come for you as they did their once beloved king.”

“If they are still there, they must’ve let Dred pass without eating him.”

“Perhaps they sensed the growing darkness he harboured.”

“Yeah, could be,” I said, reaching the outer wall. “Hold the story there. We’ll continue when I get back. Just make sure there’s enough wood waiting when I do.”

“It will be done…?”

“Mark,” I replied.

He nodded happily. “Paladin Mark. We’ll be ready.”