Fate and the story of blood

Chapter 43: Arisen dead

As a pebble rocked through the inner compartment of his shoes, he quickly adjusted it and dumped whatever was irritating the soles of his feet while they proceeded through the forest. Having the company of a handful of soldiers to scout out the areas, Nyxia went along the lands seeking if any of the people of the Kingdom of Hekald were sneaking through the lands. As the cart sounded away with him in the carriage wondering when they'd reach their destination, he heard a rustle outside his open window and in the bushes nearby.

Immediately, everyone came to be on guard, spears pointed straight and shields armed to the left. Though in but a second later, it turned out a horned rabbit had just emerged from its hibernation, startled by the loud noises that came about through this quick expedition. Everyone loosed their guard as they found the small brown bunny hopping away, small laughter and murmurs coming about from the people. Yet in the next moment, at their lowest of guards, groups of the undead suddenly popped out of the forest holding enchanted gear and decked to the extreme. Nyxia came to look out the window and as his men turned to see his shock, they knew it wasn't his doing.

Though they were the clunky and disorganized undead, they still held a considerable amount of strength from just being an underling of something stronger than them. They rushed in and without hesitation, swung their blades and shot their arrows without care for the implications that would follow. It would seem that the option of conversing was out of the book and combat would follow both party's distance came to decrease. 

With no thought towards their action, they attacked aimlessly, making it seem like a joke to the soldiers accompanying Captain Nyxia who was more than capable enough for something this minuscule. Their shields blocked whatever attack came their way and their spears were the ideal weapon to take care of the brittle bones of the skeletons and rotted undead that attacked them. Right as they were about to retaliate with their forces, a small-scale fireball then came careening forward; the attacking knocking out three of the twelve guarding the carriage.

An undead mage had appeared and it seemed like it was the commander of this small undead squad. Immediately, they came to be much more organized and have thought behind those hollow eyes of theirs; the act seemingly looking like they had gained consciousness mid-way through this battle. Their attacks were more coherent, more timed, and with meaning behind each strike. They had gained the ability of sentience with the mere appearance of a higher-raked undead mage that managed their backlines.

Seeing the fun that was unfolding behind the necromancer's eyes, Nyxia couldn't help but wonder who could've been behind this. It was certainly not something a regular being would do, maybe another higher-ranked undead of the sort? He couldn't deduce the mastermind without putting more research and effort into this. Hopping out of the dark red cart, the soldiers beside them looked as they wondered what could he do that they couldn't in this instance of a situation. They all looked at him as if he was an amateur, someone who was only recently employed by the King for his potential.

Although they had acknowledged he was an up-and-coming captain, they could only wonder if he'd be at least competent, seeing as how it had only been a month since they took notice of this individual. As the ones on the ground prepared their weaponry once more, they quickly took the words back into their mouth of their speculations once the captain took action in this sudden encounter. Five undead immediately emerged from the ground and in an instant, the ones attacking them were obliterated in but a few seconds. Their downfall only came to follow as each one was slain in one attack and eventually, the mage's fate came to fall all the same.

It was an overwhelming victory achieved by him himself, the fact that it only took a quarter of the time to take care of these things that the soldiers weren't able to was astonishing. Having now held small relief in their assurance of safety, Nyxia wasn't quite yet ready to move, for there was something now more intriguing to take apart. He pondered what lies behind this swampy forest, for not even the king knows what lies in most of the domain he rules over.