NUIA part 1: Nuian (eng) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 4: White Arden

As he walked towards the white forest, William had the feeling that night was falling extremely fast. How long had he been away from Sandcloud exactly? He could not tell. But he had this strange feeling, as if an eclipse had just occurred. The sky had darkened much more quickly than usual.
The atmosphere, too, was strange. Heavy, but also full of magic. William could feel it, supernatural events were taking place not far away. A shiver ran down his spine, and he grabbed Utopia's mane, sensing that the mare was also beginning to stress.

After a few turns, the young man saw a camp of a few tents near the road. There seemed to be a commotion not far from there. The further William went, the more he could make out what was going on. People were fighting. But some of them had greyish skin, extremely pale, and eyes devoid of any emotion. Their movements were haphazard, and some were screaming in a terrifying manner. They looked like dead people, straight out of the ground.

Suddenly, without warning, Utopia reared up. William managed to hold on to her neck and stay in the saddle, and looked around to see what had frightened his mare so much; one of the undead had slipped in front of them!

Elbion barked like a madman, but didn't attack as he usually would have, probably confused to see a human moving, yet smelling of death.

William had no choice but to get down on the ground, and grabbed a stick to try and ward off the creature. On his left arm, the rune flared up. He struck the returner with his staff, and it was thrown to the ground, suddenly lifeless, a sort of golden dust floating around its withered body. A few feet away, a woman wearing a long mage's robe who had turned at the commotion caused by William and his animals, approached him quickly.

"Are you a rune bearer?" she asked without any introduction.

"Y-yes" William stammered. "What's going on here?"

"I'll be asking the questions for now" interrupted the stranger. "These woods have become very dangerous, what brings you here?"

"I have a message for the Arden Guard" William announced. "The Ring of Nui has been stolen by the Bloodhands."

"What?! How could this happen?! That ring is our best defence against the rising of the dead!"

"What do you mean?"

"The Ring of Nui is imbued with the same magic as the goddess. It allows us to recall lost souls, guide them to the Hereafter, and bring back the undead where they should be. Without it, we will be overwhelmed!"

The mage sighed and scratched the back of her head, thinking, and watching her companions battle the undead, who were growing in number by the minute.

"We have to go and warn the others" she concluded, "but I don't have time to go myself and I can't send someone either, there aren't enough of us already. You're a rune bearer, you shouldn't have too many problems. Just head north through the forest, you should come to another camp, they'll tell you what to do there!"

Without further ado, William got back in the saddle and forced Utopia to pass in the direction of the tall white trees. The mare was very reluctant, not liking the sight of the battle taking place so close and stressed by the smell of death all around. Elbion, understanding what was going on, led the way to show the other animal the safest route. The little troop trotted carefully through the forest. Further on, the crashing sound of swords could be heard, accompanied by unidentifiable cries, suggesting that another fight was raging. And so it was; the other camp was also beset by the undead. William managed to get around them and landed. A man, wearing a mage's robe and with brown hair falling over his shoulders, approached him.