The Song of Demons' Hope

chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Risen Swamps 

 Eventually, the family left the fortress and was about to be on their merry way to the Risen Swamps when suddenly, a human being jumped out from behind a food stand with a small dagger. Tonkana hypnotized him and made him put the tiny weapon and stand still while Silas froze him from the upper chest down. Tonkana released his hold on the man's consciousness. The man wriggled as he attempted to continue his last voluntary action, not having any memory of what had just happened. Seth pulled a chilling smirk, the kind that comes from a hunter who had cornered his prey. He casually picked his teeth with the same blade the attacker had used.

 "Now, just what did you, a single man with a single pathetic blade think you could accomplish by attacking six Chosen Ones, all of them with at least mediocre talent? If we were Turned, we would have killed you. Luckily for you, we are pure of heart and mind. As a matter of fact, I do believe we rid you from the rule of a certain Turned wizard."

 "Rid? You fools, he was the only one to protect us from the undead from the Swamps! Now we'll all perish! Most will die before any undead even realize Master Joel is gone from the riots soon to come. The people heard Master Joel and his Saviors die their violent deaths. They know there's no hope. Not even the Light One escaped. The Evil One, the ruler of the Swamps himself, hated Master Joel and this city. He and his hordes of maggot bags will raid the city unrelentingly. Those who die will only make the swarms bigger." The man began to loudly sob.

 "If we kill the ruler, will all the zombies die too?"

 "Yes. Master Joel would at times try to sent a death curse through the Swamp, but the Evil One, called Matriatsu, cloaked the Swamp with layers of disruption magic. Not much can get through. The Master tried a wide variety of things, and with each failure came a swarm. The Master, his Saviors, and the Light One were always protecting us from the threat," wept the man

 "We will destroy this threat, but first, we need to stop any current riots. While we're gone, I need you to band together to stop any later riots in this city, understood?" The man nodded sharply. Seth whispered a quiet word. Pure heat radiated from him. The ice quickly evaporated. The man smiled gratefully. He bowed low, and Seth said a word. A sword of pure fear, depicting images of Death and those who had died by Seth's hand [Tonkana shivered as he saw his father's gruesome death], lightly touched each of the man's shoulder as he was knighted. Seth extended his hand.

 "Rise, my Chosen Warrior, as I go on my quest in order to defeat the Dark Executioner, his minions, and all the demons of Ceona. You will become the governor of this town, as long as you pledge your allegiance to me. If you do, you must give me army support whenever I deem necessary. And I will need it once the demons of Ceona break loose. They will, that I have no doubt of. But they do need to be stopped. The Verses are to lock up the prison," intoned Seth. The last part was obviously for the family.

 The family-plus-one began going through the city, putting out fires, freezing or immobilizing any troublemakers along the way. Finally, they had acquired quite a group of followers, so they left the human vassal, whose name was Vask, and took off towards the Risen Swamp. The first thing the family noticed was the terrible stench. It absolutely reeked of twenty-thousand pounds of rotted flesh dating back five years. Tonkana actually threw up. His puke's smell only added to the vile smell. Seth said a few quick words and suddenly the air around them was pure. There was now a bubble of some sort around them, filtering the air. Green mist pressed against the bubble, trying to break through the magical barrier. However, Seth's magical mastery held. The bubble pulsed a violet light so bright, it began to be hard to distinguish the foul mist. Thanks to Seth's magic, the family could now continue through the wasteland. Tonkana argued that the family should camp and get some rest for the siege tomorrow. Finally, Seth consented and snapped up a tent. The family slept [Seth had conjured a sentry wraith].