Magic and Monsters

Outbreak

Many of the guests immediately rose to their feet and began to murmur amongst themselves. Guards marched into the dining room, escorting the most important members of the gathering out.

A messenger ran up to the Baron.

"Baron Burns, the walkers have already razed the town, almost everybody there has been turned. We have shut the gates of the castle, however, there are hundreds of refugees outside the walls. We need your decision of whether or not to allow entry." stated the messenger.

"Allow all refugees into the safety of Castle Abbotsford, but first ensure they have not been infected. Protecting the sanctity of the castle is the first priority," he ordered.

"Yes, my lord!" replied the messenger, before running off.

"What about the rest of the town garrison?" asked Beatrice.

The soldier who delivered the message shook his head. "They were the first to turn. I was the only one to escape. There are still survivors in the Townhall!"

"Charles, keep a weapon on you. Only a powerful necromancer could have turned an entire town into walkers. We certainly can't sit here like lambs for slaughter!" exclaimed Beatrice. There was a slight shake in her voice, but her eyes seemed to burn with fire.

"If we kill the necromancer, will all the walkers die?" asked Charles.

"Unfortunately not, but it will stop the wildfire spread, however, we have no idea who the necromancer is. For all we know, he or she could be in this very dining hall," she replied.

"Oh fuck!"

"If the necromancer is within the castle walls, we are far from safe!" she said. "Come on Charles. We need to rally the guards to increase the vigilance and patrols. Walkers grow stronger and faster during the night." said Beatrice.

The two of them made their way to the gates at the front of the castle. Several nobles were leaving in their own horse-drawn carriages, probably to escape the outbreak to their own castles. Others decided to stay within the castle walls to hideout until the threat was over.

"Charles, we'll need to contact the Arcane Sanctum. They usually dispatch a battalion of holy knights and mage priests to purge the walkers. But there's a problem; because the castle's beacon is down at the moment, the nearest working one is in Town." Beatrice explained as they speed walked.

"Wait, the town that just got converted into walkers?"

"Unfortunately that's exactly where the beacon is. In the town hall, where the survivors are most likely to be hiding if they are still alive," she replied.

"Why can't the survivors use the beacon themselves?" he asked.

"Only royal blood can activate the beacons. I doubt any of the town citizens had royal blood, besides we would have seen the signal already if someone was able to activate it. In fact, I'm probably the only one with royal blood in the entire region. So, any bright ideas of how to get into the town hall?" she asked.

"Are there any secret tunnels or passageways?" offered Charles. Beatrice's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Yes! I remember now, there is a drainage system dug to help get rid of water when the village flooded a few months before. Hopefully, it hasn't collapsed, the alternative of sneaking above ground is too suicidal." she decided.

They immediately changed directions and ran the other way towards the forest trail they used earlier during the day. This time it was a lot darker and scarier.