In the wake of the execution of Sir David, the king had become distant and secluded within himself a bit more than he had liked to admit. He had lost his brother for a second time. Not to mention he felt it in his heart that he killed an innocent man. The soul of his brother had endured the abyss and was released at the moment of no return. His death would happen and King John would be at fault.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpa6lTNvbUu
He sat alone in his study with only his thoughts for company. Alone with the memories of Sir David back from before the war. Memories of their deeds to the realms and the demise of Varamont. Memories of their celebrations at taverns across the realms back when John was just a prince to his father, King Dimitrius. He had cherished those memories and Varamont had tried to sully Sir David's good name. And now all he was left with were those memories of Sir David. His brother in arms.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfBJEuEDdo
A soft knock came from the door of his study. The keep was quiet and it echoed lightly in the hall outside the room. It broke the king from his self-destructive thoughts. He tore his eyes away from the wood of his desk that he had been burning holes into. "Come in," he said more quietly than he had meant to.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchig7BlvJQ
Evander slowly creaked the sturdy door ajar and stepped one half of his body inside, "How are you getting on, John? You were quite shaken up yesternight."201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8b5efln3P
The king smiled weakly, "I am struggling, to put it plainly, Evan. Please, come in. Have a seat, why don't you?" He motioned with a hand to the chair across from his desk. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5ki4UwC30
Evander stepped in and shut the door quietly. The wooden chair creaked softly as he shifted his weight to it. For a time, neither men spoke. It seemed both of them were trying to find words and where to begin. This was not a situation that either of them, nor anyone else that has ever existed, had experience in.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DHPBmaVoo
The king sighed then, "We were wrong about the abyss." A pause settled in the air, "Sir David was not dead as we had originally believed."201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQyUuzhZFk
Evander looked at the king with eyes of instant realization, "Dead as in the real David was still within? We killed Sir David?"201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrk2F9SOQL
The king was taken aback at Evander's use of 'we' instead of putting blame on the king, he included himself in the execution. It helped his conscience to a degree. "I'm afraid so. It happened when I pulled the lever. The abyss was ripped from his body. I watched it leave. At first I thought...well, I don't know what I thought, actually. But when I saw his eyes return. Sir David's eyes. I knew what had happened. His soul had been released by the abyss right when it was too late to save him." He sighed deeply and when he spoke again, his voice was more gruff as if putting his actions to words was difficult. "And I am not quite sure what to do with this knowledge. This is not a feeling I've dealt with in the past." His gaze met Evander's, "What do you make of this?"201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡec2bQ5vxj7
Evander was speechless for a long while as he tried to make up something to say for the king. This was a difficult situation to say the least. What do you say to a man who at first believed his friend to be dead, and then found out that he was alive only to be killed immediately following and by his own hand, no less?201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrayPpjrGc
Finally he spoke up, "We did learn one thing, albeit the hard way, the ones corrupted can be released. Perhaps if we do end up finding more spies, we could imprison them and not have to resort to execution. We could hold them until the war is over and we kill Varamont."201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7d1oVU56Bp
"That is if we can kill him," the king said in reply. "We have yet to find out what he is capable of. We only bested him last time because we had the Alliance of Monmarolin. I fear now we are on our own in this one.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDRSnuHqti
"There was one thing that David had told me before his death. Something that unnerved me to the core. He told me that we had narrowly won the Great War and that this time we would not be so lucky and we were to perish." He put a thumb and forefinger to his chin, "I have done some pondering on this and I believe that that was Varamont speaking to me. I fear that he has new abilities that we are not yet privy to."201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHvhWk9aeN
"What do you think it could be," Evander ran thoughtful fingers through his hair then.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgx0CphaVll
"Hard to say," King John stood and moving over to his barrel tap he questioned Evander from over his shoulder, "Ale?"201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2dMlw0OIU
"That is an excellent idea, thank you, John," Evander left his chair as well and approached the king. He leaned against the bookshelf and rested his weight on an elbow. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSJRU4R14B
The king handed his Hunter a generous mug of ale, "Whatever it is, it can not be good. I just hope the other kingdoms are faring well."201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPu7cI4ua1
Evander took a swig from his mug and exhaled satisfaction. "If they are faring as well as we are, this will be a rough war indeed."
King Bradevere of Bromidium Keep had been fortifying his castle after his meeting with King John, King Gullrock and King Viscount. It had been going well for the past couple of weeks since then. At least until his Knight Commander, Alexander, burst into the Grand Hall.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWP3pwkmHvK
"Varamont has begun his assault, he marches for the keep! His army will arrive by nightfall, my King!" he shouted with urgency and an inkling of fear.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGN25bIQ7u
"Prepare the men for war," the king boasted after a moment of thought. "I want the women and children in the Keep's underground and the walls ready to defend. I want their blood spilled across the stone," the king spoke with confidence. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoJndcLVr4
Commander Alexander gave a respectful head nod and made his way out of the Grand Hall. His voice could be heard yelling commands at other knights as the door shut behind him, clicking quietly in the empty hall.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0zNzEQEXZ
King Bradevere was more of a stoic king as opposed to King John who enjoyed being vocal about his thoughts. He kept to himself and preferred his own company in difficult matters unless he required another mind to formulate a solution.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DdUl1Ptu9
He was tall like King John but not as burly yet still sizable in his own right. He was a fair and just king and was greatly respected by those he ruled. His people trusted his judgment and looked to him for leadership.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvSlKIZS90
King Bradevere was not about to let some demon that dabbled in magic raze his keep. Not as long as he drew breath he wouldn't.
Night had fallen on Bromidium Keep and King Bradevere stood fast on the battlements with his knights. They waited in anticipation as an army of abyssals approached the castle walls. They were accompanied by a swarm of wyverns that flew overhead.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvgPNVGVPe
The air was still and thick. A gentle breeze blew in from the mountains. Not a single soul made a sound. It was calm before the storm. The only sound that was made had been by the approaching army. Their rhythmic stomping kept pace with the king's racing heart.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8Rl8jj0bo
Gradually and without warning, the wyverns increased their flight speed and were over the walls in seconds before anyone could react in time. They began spitting their acidic breath on those below them and it ate through anything it contacted.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbp9i87Q0Cy
The screams of men in agony erupted as the acid melted through the steel armor and into their flesh and bone beneath. "Take them down!" King Bradevere commanded over the chaos that had abruptly ensued. Arrows and javelins sprung forth from the ground, taking down tens of wyverns with each sluggish volley.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllAmDMwOsf
As the wyverns were removed from the sky, another problem arose. Their few hundred pound bodies plummeted to the ground, threatening to crush anyone unlucky.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3VWHIZEG5
Knights dove in all directions to avoid the corpses hurtling toward the earth. Wyvern bodies fell onto the battlements, tables, homes, towers, and ultimately, people. Knights were crushed to death under the weight of the creatures and the gravity behind them. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOrHaMRZek
However, that did not stop the archers from continuing their volleys into the ranks of the wyverns. While the knights had been distracted by the death from above, the abyssals marched right up to the castle walls without so much as any resistance. They had brought ladders to scale the walls, instead of breaching, they would climb.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhb5ZSDqVgh
"Do not let them up!" the king yelled. "Drench them in oil and send them to hell!" He commanded from the battlements as the knights had prepared for this.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ECCrysP6y
Cauldrons of furnace-heated oil sat perched on axles set outside the peak of the walls along the entire length of the battlements ready to rain down hell. One by one, the cauldrons were levered by four knights each and the burning hot contents were emptied onto the enemies below. It cascaded down the walls and onto the ground and Varamont's forces. Archers with flame-tipped arrows unleashed multiple volleys of burning death into the oil-soaked flesh of the abyssals.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXpaQHrTuW
Fire erupted and sprinted across the ground and fed off everything it touched. The creatures made no effort to escape or cries of pain which at first made it seem like the flames were not affecting them but when bodies began to drop and fuel the flames, the assumption was proven incorrect.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzLOb7D1QH
The light from the fire pierced the dark night as it spread rapidly further out into the abyssal army. Even ones not soaked in oil were affected and cast down. Bodies dropped all around but more swiftly replaced them. Ladders had been set ablaze from the flames, rendering them unusable. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60Un0ZCnvz
But that did not stop the horde from climbing. They were set on killing all that breathed free breaths. As the fire began to die down, the creatures sprinted directly into the stone walls, slamming hard into the rock. For a moment the reason was unclear until the wave behind the first climbed on top. Slowly after waves of abyssals, a pile began to form against the stone, rising ever closer to the battlements.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBaN9G95Y4
They had enough oil for one more flood but the cauldrons needed to be filled once more. "Get those cauldrons full and ready! They are climbing the wall!" King Bradevere shouted above the commotion as his knights set to work.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQ3XR2ychZ
Knights rushed to get buckets of hot oil from the furnaces on the ground floor and into the cauldrons on the battlements. Tens of knights formed a line from the furnaces to the very last cauldron at the far end of the wall. The first man at the furnace would fill a bucket and pass it on. Once it got to the last man in the line, he would begin to fill it. This process was time consuming and very labor intensive but after repeating it for what seemed like eternity the cauldrons were filled. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyZGDj5wXh
While some were busy with the buckets, abyssals began appearing over the wall and that was when the sound of swords and shields rang out into the cold night air. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDXLIOOA6S
The bodies of abyssals, men, dwarves and elves clashed and dropped as the fight raged on. Blood spilled down the battlements' walls. Limbs were severed and heads were removed from their owners and the cries of pain and death from the knights were deafening.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS096IKXJcf
But the king was right in the midst of it, fighting alongside his knights like a proper king should. He led from the front and shouted, "Push them back! Do not let them gain any ground! Fight for your families, for your lives, for you king!"201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKWJLPYjC8
The knights of Bromidium Keep came from all over the continent, men, dwarves, and elves and with their king, they rallied together, "For the king!" they cried as they held the line of abyssals from advancing. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJW0noesogJ
The king swung his fifteen pound, seven foot long greatsword easily through his enemies as if it were the weight of a knight's sword. With his knights by his side and his commanding voice to lead them, the king pushed back the abyssals long enough for the second wave of hot oil to be set loose.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnELBN8TOQV
The piles that had formed along the wall were saturated in the hot oil and another volley of flaming arrows were loosed into the midst. Flames burst skyward again and the living makeshift ladders began to crumble under their own weight into melted flesh and bone.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygF6WDj369
Gradually, the enemies' numbers began to dwindle from the original five thousand to that of a few hundred. "Finish off the wretched hell beasts. Send them to the abyss." King Bradevere said plainly. He looked around at the carnage and the massacre that had befallen his home. "Is this all you can conjure, Varamont?" 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡascH1FprNq
Just then from the north end of the castle, creatures most vile began emerging from the frozen earth. Hands burst upward from the tilled soil, grasping for the open air. One after another, the corpses of those who came before exhumed themselves from their eternal rest. Hundreds of them crawled from the ground and righted themselves to stand. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMOMH3tET9
"Enemies to the north!" a knight shrieked from the opposite end of where the king stood panting. The knight stared in bewilderment. Was he seeing...corpses?201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjKoA03Bmj
Without delay, King Bradevere sheathed his sword and ran across the battlements. Bodies from both sides littered the walls, slowing his progress but he was nimble enough to make easy work of it, his armor clanking as he ran.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAKJOO4P67
When he arrived, he believed his eyes were deceiving him as he took in thousands of corpses shambling up to his doorstep. "What in the deepest parts of hell..." the king said under his breath. The living dead bumped past one another as some moved faster than others. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFrn6nIpHw
The king's eyes went wide with the realization of what this meant. Not only has Varamont brought the dead back to life, as alive as dead flesh can be, but it also meant that he had become exponentially more powerful than he had been during the time of the Great War. His magic had developed beyond the strength to reincarnate the dead by the thousands. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXphsyvgt6
The last of the abyssals to the south end had been dealt with and an uneasy calm took hold over King Bradevere and his men as the shambling corpses slowed to a stop. They stood perfectly in columns and rows, suggesting that they were part of a hive mind controlled by one man.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnrb5sbIUz
The crude zombified remains of Bromidium Keep's loved ones stood crudely, taunting everyone within the castle.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTbkPjDAqE
From behind the walls, more fear struck the hearts of the living. The corpses of the fallen knights and the abyssals rose again. Only this time their eyes were pitch black and empty. They stood still and quiet. The bodies stood up straight as opposed to the rotting ones outside.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8FUNLwqzX3
One knight in particular approached King Bradevere and spoke with a haunting voice, "A fine night for bloodshed, wouldn't you say?" He chuckled softly with the voice of Varamont himself. His voice was calm on the surface but underneath there was a burning desire for power and dominion over all. "You stand here atop your walls as some king but the reality you maggots cannot seem to grasp is that your little kingdoms mean nothing. You believe you rule over something. What is it that you rule? Your people? Your land? I think not. Your walls are built of sand and they will crumble."201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyhlUBLZPi
The king stood with the point of his sword in the stone and had both hands resting on the pommel. "Your words are empty, Varamont." He held his gaze with the corpse, "So you dabble in necromancy now?" 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaowwsCCV94
Varamont laughed heartily, "You call this dabbling?" He asked rhetorically and on que all of the risen dead joined in on his laughter. The older corpses outside the walls sounded less like a laugh and more like a chuffing noise. Their throats had all but rotted away along with everything that made them once human. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3T0oLlXZP0
The laughing ceased in unison and the Varamont corpse spoke again, his eyes burning with that abyssal black color. "Do you now see how futile your fight is? I can control anyone living or dead. You shall not win again. Whatever you kill, I will resurrect," he paused for a moment. "And I will continue to resurrect everything until there is no one left alive if I must. So you see, whether or not you submit to me or die trying, I will win in the end. This world shall be mine and you are powerless to stop me."201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLv9XagbRBr
His voice left the air thick and tense in its wake. The Varamont corpse grinned expectantly, waiting for a response from King Bradevere.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRu36R9dCaf
The king stood in silence for a time before speaking, "In due time...we shall see." He said plainly.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRuaXdrQuc
As suddenly as the fallen knights and exhumed bodies rose, they all fell with sickening thuds all around as the abyss was ripped from them. The bodies littered the ground in the thousands and the smell of death and rot was overwhelming.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaMcVPwmOb
King Bradevere held his gaze on the prone Varamont corpse as he spoke to Commander Alexander who stood beside him, "Send word to everyone, the kings must know about this. They must be informed of what is coming." He looked to his Commander then, "Burn the bodies. All of them." 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4Y6TCSzqu
"But sire, our customs forbid it," Commander Alexander was taken aback at the king.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iEDz4gLNf
The king shot back a bit more aggressively than he had intended, "I know our customs, Commander." He stopped himself when he realized how he had spoken. "Apologies." He paused again, "Just burn them. We do not have the luxuries of customs. This is war and we cannot risk their bodies being used against us.."201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8klYD08BDm
"Understood, my King," Commander Alexander nodded to the king and briskly walked off to inform the other kings with letters and pigeons. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3ZWW0w3Hy
The king could see his knights beginning to clean up the corpses of their brothers and the wretched remains of the abyssals. 201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcnRSEOXYA
King Bradevere walked cautiously up to the low walls of the battlements and placed his hands upon the stone as he leaned forward. He looked out over the carnage of what remained. With a deep sigh he admitted to no one but himself, "We are in grave danger. I do not see a way out of this.201Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QH6G6J5m2
