The Dead Will Hunt

Sarek ran toward where Lucian went under the water and dove down. He couldn't see anything in the murky water and began feeling around trying to find the human.

Nothing.

Sarek came back up for a breath.

Onni clawed away with his blades up to the head of the beast. he made it to the top of the head and felt his foot sink. It was as if he had stepped on a rotten board and it broke under his foot. Only isntead of a pice of wood, Onni stepped on a rotten chunk of skull. Onni fell through the top of the head and into the brain of the beast, his blades ripping chunks of membrane the entire way. he fell about halfway into the brain, and the dragon fell all the way to the ground with a thunderous boom.

Water splashed everywhere sending Oceana and the boat onto the muddy shore near Petra.

Sarek felt something. A foot! He grasped it and pulled. It wouldn't budge. He felt up the leg to a hip and found a large rock on the stomach of the body. He shoved the rock off and swam back up with the body.

Sarek drug the water logged body of Lucian out of the murky water. Lucian crawled on his knees coughing up water. Lucian would survive and would need a solid day's rest before he felt any better.

"Leave the maggots," Sarek whispered to Lucian. "They'll eat any bacteria that would cause infection."

Sarek was soaked to the bone, as was everyone else. Petra helped Oceana to her feet while Sarek walked to the dragon.

"Where the--?" Sarek then saw the hole Onni had fallen through in the top of the head of the undead beast.

He peered inside the hole and saw Onni crawling out of the brain.

Onni fell out onto the ground and puked (again) brain matter of the undead beast onto the ground.

"You really need to change your diet," the darkling said to Onni.

"I thought I'd let them know what it feels like for a change."

Onni then pulled himself up. He was dizzy, woozy, sick... Lucien had a hole in his stomach. Onni envied him. The lizard and his stomach were not best of friends anymore.

"Welcome to Toi Swamp, I suppose. Now where can we rest? Twice inside a dragon is enough for me. Then inside me is just uncalled for..."

Onni started walking and immediately slipped on some brain matter, falling onto his back, and on his tail stub.

"Ow..." Onni just laid there a minute.

"Stupid reptile..." he said, bitterly to the dragon.

Lucian grabbed Sarek and pulled himself up. He looked around for a moment and realized he couldn't see Oceana. He looked rather worried as his eye's combed the area.

He felt rather attached to her partly because she was a beautiful women, but mainly because she was the first person to treat him decent.

"Oceana!" he said, he then spotted her and Petra.

He walked over and gently helped her to her feet. He supported her way as she stood and he looked at Petra rather cautiously. Then back to Oceana.

"Are you ok?" he asked her worried.

While Onni tried to settle his stomach, Petra tried to make sense of everything happening, and Lucian tried to befriend Oceana more, Sarek began gathering wood. Most of it was wet. He was able to gather enough though fora small fire.

"Lucian will take first watch, the new one with the grappling hook can take the second watch, and Oceana and Onni can take the last watch," Sarek said finding a moss covered rock to use as a pillow and layed down for some rest.

Lucian sighed of course he would get first watch and of course he wouldn't be with Oceana.

"Let me remind you I'm still naked and I don't have a weapon"
Sarek tossed one of his dagger's to Lucian and went back to his pillow.

Lucian leaned up against a tree, finally rest then the horror set in. He couldn't sleep untill his wound was taken care of.

The other's took there places and settled down as Lucian kept watch the hours ticked by but Lucian couldn't tell he was so deprived of sleep it didn't matter.

He saw a small group of two undead and hid waiting for them to wander closer.

He crept up behind one and it spun around rather quickly lunging in the process Lucian extended the dagger as it nearly impaled its self but stopped Lucian then thruster it through its head killing it.

using the blade as leverage he jumped kicking one with both feet he fell on his side and cringed in pain but the zombie impaled itself on a rusted pipe sticking from the ground the third was on top of Lucian in second.

He stuck one hand against its forehead preventing it from infecting him. Lucian managed to grab a rock with is free hand clocking the zombie in the head tumbling it over he stood and stomped on hits head crushing it.

He took a deep breath and looked over at the sleeping people, walked over and gently kicked Petra in the side waking him.

"It's your turn," he said as he sat next to Oceana she was sleeping and for a moment he wondered if she was an angel.

He couldn't sleep but he certainly could watch over her. He gently brushed a bug from her check carefull not to wake her.

Petra grunted in acknowledgment, bitterly waking from his sleep. He made his way to a rock and tried to seat himself as comfortably as possible. All was quiet, no undead or animals could be seen or heard, just a silence that blanketed the swamp. It was disconcerting to say the least.

"Why am I here?" he muttered, pacing a bit.

"Why isn't there any sunlight?"

"Who are these people? I don't know them from Adam so why should I even have to take a watch?"

"What has happened to this world?" he whispers softly, shaking his head as he retook his seat.

With a heavy sigh he looked up at the stars, "Who the hell is Adam anyways...?"

Onni was able to sleep for a bit during Lucien and Petra's shifts. However, he smelled terrible still, and couldn't get a good sleep.

He heard Petra talking to himself. He didn't feel like it was his business, so he just laid still. Finally, frustrated that he wasn't going to get back to sleep anyway, he sat up.

"I'll take over if you wish. Sorry you got mixed in with us," Onni said, standing up. "I don't know any Adam."

All his gear was on his person. The leather and chainmail armor he wore would probably never loose that stench. He almost considered getting rid of it. With his luck though, he'd get bitten the first second.

Onni didn't feel comfortable waking Oceana. She was a lady, and Onni wasn't feeling so sick anymore. He could certainly yell if anything got out of hand...

He moved away from the fire. It made his scales itch. Course the dried bile didn't make him any more comfortable.

Onni started thinking about the elf's question.

What DID happen to the world? Why did this happen?

Onni never understood. It should never have gotten this bad. He should have been able to grow up in Toi Swamp worrying about gators and bugs. Not zombie dragons and those jumpers.

"I really wish I knew what happened," he said more to himself than the elf. "Would like to know how to stop it, more."

Not moving from his spot, Petra looked at the aniver. "When did all of this happen? My last memories are so vague, I cant begin to even try piecing them together. I remember a wizard, pain, spiders, then.... darkness."

He shook his head and silently looked in front of him. What he wouldn't give just for a sunrise, or glimmer of light, hell anything but this silent darkness!

He looks over at the aniver, coughs a bit from the smell of zombie gore, then punches the lizard in the shoulder. "What the hell did you throw this stuff on me for!?" he asks in a angry whisper

Onni almost got offended by the elf's punch, thinking he'd done something wrong. Then he asked about the zombie stuff.

"Ohh! I am sorry about that," he said in the raspy, reptilian voice. "It was something I was testing. I heard a story that zombies wont attack you if you have their stink on you. I put some on myself with good results. I wanted to use you as a second test. I would have been more... respectful about it, but I had just been vomited by a zombie dragon. I wasn't thinking very clearly.

"As to how this began... I don't know. It was maybe one year ago, that the undead just seemed to overwhelm the world. The sun went out, zombies were everywhere, people started turning to politics while ignoring the issue of the undead...

"I don't know where you've been the last year-year and a half, but I'm sorry you woke up."

Lucian wouldn't be able to sleep for he could die from his fever in the middle of the night if he did so. He looke around to make sure nothing was around and stood up away from Oceana he walked up to Onni and Petra.

He nodded at the two as a greeting.
"It was not long, ago but one thing we do know especially since today, there getting smater. Your welcome to stay with us if you would like," he spoke softly and almost soothing like then coughed he was clamy and sweaty.

"Everyone is alone today, were just alone together," he then looked over at Onni.

"I need you to help me with something friend," Lucian politly asked as he Oceana's torn was coat from his side.


There were sticks and dirt through out it. He still had the maggots but they were fighting off backteria and had to stay tell they got to a doctor.

It was a nasty wound and rather large the whole was about the size of a softball. Fever had set in a few hours ago and would certainly kill him if he wasn' properly treated.

"Onni can COUGH! You help me clean this, atleast tell we get to a city," he asked nicely as he leaned agaisnt Onni's body slightly for support it was hard for Lucian to stand on his own.

"Ah, you smell bad enough that I have no reason to doubt you," Petra said to Onni, covering his nose. He listened to the reptile, his mind frantically trying to piece things together. "So the entire world is like this? The undead are everywhere?!" he asked in a surprised whisper.

He heard footsteps behind him, followed by the werewolf's voice, and Petra snapped. Was it the bad day he'd had? Maybe

Was it the fact the first good night's sleep he'd had since he could remember got cut short? Possibly.

Was it the fact he hated being interrupted? Absolutely.

He casually throws one of his hooks over a branch, making it loop around Lucian's ankle. He pulled hard and Lucian was quickly jerked up into the tree, hanging precariously by his ankle, swaying back and forth.

Petra tied off teh cable and sat back down. He looked at Onni, "Sorry, you were saying?"

The force of the swing was all it took. Lucian was already groggy from his fever. And no sleep....well the swing just sapped the energy from him.

Lucian was out cold and likely would not wake up unless someone woke him up.

Onni and Petra continued their conversation about the world.

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

A few hours later, Oceana and Sarek woke up, both feeling completely refreshed due to Oceana getting so much rest and due to Sarek suckering the others into taking a watch each and not taking one himself.

Sarek walked up to Lucian. The man still hung upside down from a tree, still out cold.

Sarek shook his head and walked away letting the man stay unconscious.

He walked through the woods. He found Oceana's whip on the ground.

"How the hell did this get down here?" Sarek whispered looking at it curiously.

His stomach rumbled. He hadn't had any....sustenance.... for a while and was hungry.

He then thought about Lucian.

Sarek had a plan and began walking back to the others.

The figure in the tree where Oceana's whip had once hung watched...waited....hunted....

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

Sarek returned to the camp and gave Oceana her whip.

"Found this in the woods," he said to her putting the fact he had found it on the ground out of his mind.

Oceana, Petra, and Onni all seemed awake enough. Petra and Onni were tired, but weren't exhausted.

"You three go on ahead. I'll get Lucian awake and catch up," Sarek whispered.

Oceana, Petra, and Onni nodded and left the area and began making their way through the swamp.

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

"Ahhhh we're alone," Sarek whispered to the sleeping Lucian. he found a bit of vine and deftly tied Lucian's hands behind his back. The vine was strong. Even his wolf form wouldn't be able to break the silk rope hanging him be the feet from the tree, or the vines binding his wrists.

Lucian began to wake up a bit.

Sarek was hungry.

He bit down on Lucian's neck and began sucking his blood.

Lucian screamed in horror and began struggling.

Sarek stood at an angle while sucking Lucian's blood to where Lucian couldn't see him.

Sarek drank more...and more.

Lucian quit moving.

Sarek drank more.

Lucian was very still.

Sarek drank more.

Lucian hung from the tree limply out cold again.

Sarek stopped. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He then listened to Lucian's chest for a heart beat.

It was their but very weak.

Sarek ripped off part of the cloth wear Lucian's wound was in his stomach and patched up the bite in his neck. He then used a dagger to cut Lucian down and to remove the vines around his wrists.

Sarek then hurried to catch up to Onni, Oceana and Petra while dragging Lucian's sleeping body by the rope around his feet.

Lucian was completely unaware of what happened.....and Sarek wasn't hungry anymore.

"So you still haven't explained to me why you thought going inside of the dragon was a good idea." Petra said to Onni, wading through the swamp and thickets of branches. He looked around in the dark, and noticed that for the first time since he arrived, the woman was conscious.

He stepped away from Onni and towards Oceana, "Evening mam... I think," he says, looking around for some indication of the time. "Regardless, seeing as I never properly introduced myself, what with hanging that naked guy from a tree and you being unconscious the entire time. My name's Petra," he said, not really expecting an answer because gods know, this woman could be unconscious again before she could speak.

Onni got extremely upset with Lucian. Onni just starts to open up, and he expect Onni to wash him? He let out a hiss, ready to yell at Lucien.

Fortunately, the elf used one of his arm gadgets to lasso Lucien into a tree. Of everyone in the group, Onni was starting to like the new guy most.

For some reason, after everyone had rested, and after they started moving again, the elf still seemed interested in talking to Onni. That is, until the elf noticed the girl in the room- er, swamp.

Onni was left to walk alone with his thoughts. Being friendly was not easy for him. He wasn't comfortable around anyone except Petra, yet.

He gazing between trees and in pools of water. If there were any undead or anything worse, he wanted to look for it. He even looked into the trees and sky.

"I realize you mammals enjoy flapping your jaws, but perhaps conversations can wait till after we leave the swamp?" whispered Onni.

Lucian was in no mood to talk either, his condition was getting worse and he feared for his lufe he could barley stand up at this point. He doubled over against a tree and nearly passed out he was coughing terribly. At this point he was walking next to Onni, stumbling more like it.

He tripped and fell into Onni and leaned against him for a moment those few precious seconds of not walking seemed like hours.

COUGH!

COUGH!

"Regardless, of how you think of me. Evan though I would like us to be friends, I'm dying and I can't continue like this...please Onni help me walk," lucian had trouble walking his legs were shaking his face was greenish pale and he looked as if one more step would be his last.

His wound was beginning to get infected as well.

Life sucks.

Name: Asar Talahh
Race: Riverfolk
Faction: Naturalist
Hair: Red, choppy.
Eyes: hazel

Weapons: Asar carries a Ball-Mace covered in long spikes and two curved silver knifes.
Armor: Asar Wears beige leather armor, not great for steath, but it works.

Companion: A rather fat, gray opossum named Chomp. There is a 73% chance that it has rabies.

History: Asar became a naturalist because of her love for animals, particularly unusual, and sometimes dangerous ones.

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

Asar Talahh was on her hands an knees, halfway underneath a bush.

"Chomp! Oh, Chompy-boy, where--?"

CHOMP!

"Ow. Chomp! You bit me again. Come on outa there!" Asar grabbed the opossum by the tail and struck it. The furry creature cried out in pain. She scolded him and then stroked his back. Chomp hated her. Chomp hated everyone, but the girl was completely in love with the irritable, and possibly rabbid opossum.

Asar sat him on her shoulder and heard a distant scream then silence. "Think someone's hurt, boy? Maybe we should help." If it could have the rodent would have groaned.

Name: Ariella

Race: Elf, Archer

Bio/History: Don't ask, cause you won't get any information on Ariella. Or you may not like the answer. If its important for you to know, you will.

Physicality: Petite, very fit and agile with feminine features she uses to her advantage. Her hair is a purple with lighter shades of lavendar, silver and white mixed together and falls to her lower back. Her eyes are a dark, deep green that contrasts beautifully with her pale skin and hair.

Weapons: Daggers for up close, bow & arrows for ranged. Fire arrows will deal damage to surrounding enemies (learned from a secret location).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arielle quickly and quietly made her way through the hideously stinky swamps towards the sounds of fighting. If she could help it, not a single undead thing would be left standing.

Ducking behind a large bush, she watched the beings end the fight.

"Well," she strutted out to introduce herself, "Looks like I get here too late."

She walked up towards the dragon creature and before getting too close, made a face that said exactly what she thought of his stench. In fact, every single one of these things could stand a good cleaning.

Leaving a wide gap between herself and these nauseating things, Ariella came to a rock she could sit on. Perching herself and crossing her left leg over the right, she watched the others recooperate from the fight.

"You look like hell," she teased.

Asar jogged through the swamp, careful not to step in anything. Of course, while watching her feet, the oafish riverfolk slammed right into the back of a zombie. She jumped backward and pulled out her mace.

The stiff lunged.

Asar's brain scrambled as she tried to remember how to cast entanglement and swing her weapon at the same time. The tiny girl swung as hard as she could and suddenly remembered her spell. She closed her eyes as she did and got her mace, not the opponent in front of her. Asar looked up at the zombie. Then sprinted as fast as she could to get away.

"Why do you presume that I am that caring of you? Perhaps I am a throat slashing lunatic. You ever think of that? I don't like you on me, and I don't like you!" hissed Onni.

Still, despite his words, Onni wasn't about to let the man collapse in the swamp. Onni didn't know why. It just made him more frustrated.

"The moment you can walk on your own mammal feet, you're on your own for good," he whispered. "I've been saving your hide ever since Greyshore, and I'm not your pack mother!"

Onni wondered why Lucien would pick Onni of anyone to lean on. He still smelled like dragon bile, though Lucien wasn't much better. If they ever got into Peregren, Onni was burning his armor.

Up the road, a female elf on a rock was talking to them. Onni growled in irritation. What were all these people doing out in the swamps?

Onni wasn't about to make friends with another moocher.

Lucian had enough of Onni and he had enough of the swamp and enough of his fever, enough of the gaping hole in his stomach!

He walked alone by himself in the back of the group, being alone was better then starting trouble. He thought to himself.

"That damn snake better get his act together, if it were him in my position he would be asking for help," He couldn't really blame the lizard, not to long ago Onni was thrown in with a group of people that he didn't want to know in the first place.

Onni, just like Lucian and everyone else in the group. was having a bad day.

Lucian saw the elf arrive, why would anyone be in the swamp willingly?

He payed no attention to anyone, he was gone to the rest of the world his fever and his wound took to much out of him, he was moving because he had to and nothing more.

Oceana nodded at Petra, "my name is Oceana of the Gaslamp Quarter, sorry for my ill manners, I have not been myself lately."

Oceana looked at Onni, he was right about conversations.

She spoke no more, except in her mind. 'We are an odd lot, that is for certain. How do I find myself in the company of these people? I am not at all comfortable with this new existence, this adaptation of life....'

This is no life.

She nudged the her pistol....'one bullet left. Could I be brave enough to use it to move on to the next realm. What is left to look forward to? There is not even the sunrise of a new day dawning to renew my spirit. No crowds of people to wander through. No brilliantly colorful sunsets or rainbows to chase after a warm summer thunderstorm. Time is unmeasured, at any moment it could be my last, and days and nights are indistinguishable from another. Food does not bring the enjoyment it once did, now it is scarce and simply a means of survival.'

'Survival....surviving for what?' she thought to herself really trying to find something....anything to look forward to. 'Did any of it matter, really? Even if I find something that gives me hope, it would be taken away or left behind again in the name of survival.'

She sighed deeply. 'Now not even the quickening of my heart when I catch the eye of a gentleman staring my direction, what good could come of a trist now....even lifting his wallet afterward would not give me the thrill of adventure. Money means little when dodging so many undead creatures.
For now, this odd bunch of survivors at least hold my interest a bit. And what if an undead bit me....then I could for sure.'

Lucian was starting to falter, he was was amazed he was still alive. Instead of walking one foot after another he was dragging his feet and stumbling around. His breathing was faint and very soft. Oceana's waistcoat piece had fell from his wound in battle and was now open to whatever may come to it.

He was shaking and pale his voice was hoarse and weak, the fever was beginning to overcome him and if that didn't infection his wound would. He knelt down and scooped water from the Swamp water was water at this point he as going to drink it, but he couldn't keep his hand's still and it just sloshed out.

He can't even drink on his own!

He tried to stand but couldn't was as if every ounce of energy was zapped from him. He tried again and fell back down, he didn't care at this point he just layed there resting his head against a tree.

As far as he was concerned life was over for him life was over for everyone.

Onni didn't object at all when Lucien pulled off and tried moving on his own. The lizard kept to himself, from there on.

Oddly, while Oceana was wondering why it was all worth it, Onni was thinking about what he would do once the undead were all destroyed. He was so certain that it was just a matter of joining forces and hunting parties. If people could just work together, the plague could be stopped all too easily!

What would he do after the zombies were gone? Go soak in a river, probably. Soak until his scales glistened once again, and that foul stench left. He didn't have any interest in Peregren or Toi Swamp.

Perhaps after the undead were taken care of, he'd go and help turn Dead Town back into the city of the aniver. Yeah... that sounded great.

Onni suddenly got pulled back into reality when he heard Lucien sloshing water, trying to drink. Suddenly... Onni wondered.

"Hey, mammals..." he said out loud. "Did any of you notice if Lucien was bitten?"

His hands clenched, ready to release his blades...

Lucian stumbled around his head was on fire, he wasn't sure if he was bitten either but in reality it was the fever and the infected stomach wound that were causing this.

"AHHHHHH!!!!!!" he screamed he looked at the other's and all he saw were undead versions of them,

"GET AWAY FROM ME! I'LL KILL YOU I'LL KILL YOU, YOU FUCKING STAY AWAY!," he shouted swinging his fists wildly he tried running but just fell.

He fell right in the swamp, and he began stumbling backwards in the swamp when soon two zombies pulled him under.

The first stiff spread his mouth wide and began to descend it upon Lucian the other was holding him by the shoulders digging his claws into him.

They were of course hallucinations but he thought they were very real he almost felt the pain.

He thrashed and splashed and screamed and nothing was there, He also thought the other's were stiff's so that didn't help the situation.

Sorry took me so long guys.


Name: Hadrian Gangrum
Race: Human
Faction: none
Hair: looks blackish as if someone tried to dye it. It's also cropped but in a way that it looks like it was cut with a dull pair of rusty scissors. It's standing up, but no clue how. Maybe it's grime
Eyes: brown.



Weapons: Hadrian carries a dagger and a sabre as his primary weapons much like a someone would use them in a florentine style of fighting if they had the training. Hadrian does not. He also carries a slingshot with two pouches. One that's filled with rocks and metal shods that he finds along the way that he can fire. in the other are shots made of sap from a rubber tree mixed with gunpowder with metal filings in it wrapped with thin tree bark to keep them from sticking to each other.










Hadrian was an orphan after his parents were killed by the undead. A typical story in Nerin Toth. The 17 year old boy roamed from hiding hole to hiding hole barely eeking by until his life was change.

While rummaging through an old building he found a book. Thinking he could use it for wiping. As he opened the book to tear out a page he started reading what was inside. The book was a journal by some guy. It told of his and his friends adventures throughout Nerin Toth. The book was written by a man named Turk'en. Hadrian decided he wanted to live that life. He wanted to follow the teachings within.

So now Hadrians tries to follow the rules of the book and live as his two heroes.



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


Hadrian was sloshing through the swamp hopping from log to log to try and stay out of the water. He was bearing down with all his might to try and get away from the two sprinters that were behind him. One sprinter lept from tree to tree getting a head of the 18 year old boy. His coat was slowing him down alittle as it was getting wet. Hadrian had his dagger in hand cutting vines and what not that got in his way. The sprinter that got ahead landed right in front of Hadrian, bringing the boy to a stop. Hadrian slashed with his dagger but the zombie was too fast for him.

"C'MON! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE."


The other sprinter came up behind the boy. The two had him flanked and were circling him. The undead weren't really big brained but they never really attacked like pack animals before. Hadrian pulled out his sabre and held it in his dominant hand. He wasn't going down without a fight!

"GAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGHHH! COME AND GET ME YOU BASTARDS!"

Shouted Hadrian brandish his blades infront of him in a defensive manner.