Adventures in Zephlanore

The Long Night

There was a silence in the late night of the monastery that spoke of trouble and ill will. The shadows held their breath to hear what evil approaches. This night Levi laid sleepless in his bed, tossing and turning with visions of goblins and the undead. Grasping at his heels, he tumbles into a rickety boat. The feeling of dread was overwhelming, like a boat that was slowly taking in water. He woke exhausted, letting reality seep back in as the dream faded into memory. The corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a figure standing in the dark at the end of the hall. Levi turned and looked, it was Aden.  Can't sleep either, he thought. Levi tumbled out of his bed hoping to easy his friends mind or at least hoping to find some comfort for his. Aden didn't seem to notice Levi approaching, "Aden" Levi whispered. Aden turned as if he was walking in dreams, but something seemed different about him. Something seemed odd. It was his face, it seemed longer, twisted with horror. Aden began to walk stiffly across the dorm, out of the shadows came another set of faces, dead faces.

"Zombie Attack!" Levi cried as a real fear began to take him. Not a fear of zombies or the undead but a fear that only comes when your friends and brothers are in harms way. The world began to slow as he heard the screams of others being attacked, Levi watched as his brothers of the Temple were stirred from their rest by the stiff thrashing and clawing of hands. Then the realization came over him, this is a dream, zombies wouldn't attack his monastery. Besides William is here, only in his dreams was he ever alone. Just then he heard William called out something unintelligible as he drew a sword from under his bunk. Levi wasn't waking, this wasn't a dream. Levi ran across the top of bunk posts and landed on Aden pining him to the ground. 

Aden was pale and cold. Levi hadn't noticed before the swollen and bruised face or offset jaw. Someone had beaten a killed him. His friend was no more than a defiled corpse, Levi dashed Aden's head on the ground. "Forgive me, my friend." Levi stood, his mind whirling with emotion as hot tears stung his eyes. Levi and William stood among a half dozen dead brothers. Looking up they saw the brothers of the monastery huddling around them. Levi didn't want them to him broken and emotional, not when he had learn to bury this feels so far down. Levi spun leaped into the air with a spin, "we did it!" He shouted holding his position trying his hardest to freeze in the air. 

"This is Aden," William started looking over the corpse of his younger comrad, "someone killed him, and brought him back." William removed a few bed sheets and covered the bodies. He looked to Levi, "You know what this means?"
"Aden was the boss?" Levi replied tapping his chin.
"No you idiot," Josiah one of the brothers chimed in. "It's a Necromancer, the one that turned the dead in the Matthias family tomb. I knew you two would leave some loose end. I'm going to find Head Monk." Josiah stormed out of the room. William's eyes opened wide with fear, "The younger years, I've gotta make sure the are okay!" William grabbed his sword running for the door.

Agmar lay sleeping under a tree with his gourd nestled under his head when he caught the scent of something I'll in the air. He looked around the small courtyard dimly lite from the moonless starry night. There was a low growing noise, Agmar placed his hand on his belly giving it a gentle hush. He heard the growl once more but this time he noticed it hadn't come from his stomach but from the dark side of the courtyard. He new at once what it was, "who is conjuring Devils here?" Agmar sneered. Agmar held onto his shepherds crook and prepared himself for what was about to emerge, when suddenly he heard the frantic cries coming from the dormitory halls behind him. The red eyes of a demon hound dashed out of the shadows with a howl.

William kicked down the door startling awake the young children in the lower dormitory. Levi frantically ran down the rows of beds counts all the young boys. They were all there. "It's good here." Levi shouted. He looked at one of the boys whose eyes were welling up with water, Levi realized the frantic look on his own face and quickly shook it off. "Stay here and you all will be safe." William said with the up most confidence. "Safe?" a boy replied, "You kicked down the door!" William and Levi looked at one another, "Alright boys!" Levi said in his loudest demanding voice, "It's fire drill time! All you all gotta get up and head to the chapel."

Master Aaron and Josiah stood side by side in the great hall of the temple. Only a handful of candles lite the way as William and Levi lead the children down the aisle. Master Aaron's peaceful glow was not about him this time, something that Levi had only achieved once. 

"I have not heard from Master Kelvin, I fear he may be in trouble." Master Aaron said cautiously, "Josiah, escort the brothers into the great hall. Levi and William, I would like you to head down to the lower level of the temple and see if Master Kelvin is well, but be on your guard. "

"What in the nine hells!" Josiah started, "I should go with Levi and William, I am just as fast as Levi and can handle a sword twice as well as William."

"That maybe so but you can't take directions like they do." Master Aaron gently replied. Josiah took his leave passing Agmar as he limped into the hall.

Agmar, William and Levi slowly entered the lower parts of the temple with unease. This area was forbidden to everyone but the masters and had become much more of a place of legend. The lower parts took a shape similar to old catacombs, with low arched ceilings and narrow halls. The halls were lined with old rusted iron door bearing large iron locks.Unable to quench his curiosity Levi peered through a set of bars on one of the door. He found the room rather well kept with stocks of monk and fighter uniforms. He noted an old armor form with a tarnished breastplate baring the sigil of a birch tree. A handful of swords, spears, and bows were racked against the wall, he couldn't help but wonder if there was a time warriors came from this temple. Agmar's lantern and crook could not light the entire hall increasing their sense of dread as they approached the end of the hall.  

The end of the hall dropped away to another smaller staircase. Their footsteps reverberate off of the bare walls of the large room below the temple. The shadows seemed darker and thicker, as if they meant to swallow the light of the lantern. There was no sign of anyone down below and yet they did not feel alone. They stopped in the middle of the room, none of them could find words to break the silence, it was their home after all and it was under attack. The silence was broke by the sound of shuffling feet, when out of the shadows walked the figure of a man in an expressionless stone mask. Then another came foreword behind them, and another from the side till at last they were surrounded. The feeling of anger and hate filled the in the room, growing thicker as if the were under water. Agmar noticed they were standing amidst the center of a conjuring circle, drawn in blood. Stepping into the trio's circle of light came the grim figure of a stranger, a stranger that they all new in their gut consorted with the undead.