The Song of Aurea

The Church of Newtale Pt. II

Elanya Silverwind

Newtale

February, 1703 AR

"Get off of me!" cries the voice again, "I-I'll BITE YOUR HEAD OFF!"

Rael is close behind me, and judging by the huffing and shuffling, Kasai and Markkason are behind him. I can tell the voice ahead isn't human. It's female and canine. If it were human, I wouldn't be running half as fast on such a bad ankle. It isn't long before I feel the same shiver and smell the same scent from before as the nearly hidden church stands before us in its thick veil of mist. Growls and shrieks arise from within as the others catch up with me. The unguided fear that's flooding my chest has forced me to stop.

"This place is enchanted," says Markkason, his eyes glowing a bright violet, "I can sense it. Some sort of fear charm."

He slides off of Kasai, still drunk but slowly beginning to sober up due to the severity of the situation. He grabs a pebble from the ground and whispers an incantation into it. Light bursts from between his fingers and he tosses the now shining pebble into the mass of fog. The silhouette of a dog shows in the light. She's hunched over a small mound of bones, facing us but seemingly unaware of our presence. A lurking, skeletal shape is nearing her from behind.

"Good work, Markkason," Rael says monotonously.

Without thinking, I open my bag, produce a long sling I've been holding onto, and load it with a sizeable rock. It sings as it spins for a few seconds before I let go of one of the loops, sending the rock flying. It breaks the mist as it shoots through the air, revealing, only for a split second, the rotting, human face of a killer. It looks up and growls, only to have its barely visible head explode from the sheer force of the rock alone. The gore is quickly engulfed by the mist once more and the large dog disappears into the mass of graves.

"Come on," I say, I beckoning for the other two to follow as I move through the white mass.

I can tell they have followed me, but by only sound alone. I can barely see, and I only can by the eerie shadows cast by Markkason's spell. My skin feels wet and my hair has grown heavy as it drips like a mop on my head. Other undead figures shuffle about the cemetery, but I can't tell how many. Their shapes are obscured by the shadows of each other and of the gravestones.

"You said you heard I cry for help," says Markkason, "But all I heard was angry barking."

"The barking was the cry for help," I reply, rolling my eyes at his humanoid arrogance.

"I don't..." he starts.

"I'm a druid, dumbass," I bark, "This isn't the time!"

As if almost on cue, the shadow of another emaciated, vaguely human creature lunges from the white and onto Markkason's back. He screams as he's pulled to the ground, landing on the rotting zombie with a sickening crack and falling into the shadows where we cannot see him. It's growls turn to shrieks, only broken by the half elf's grunts. I start to run forward, but a root catches my foot and I fall to the dirt.

"Markkason?" says Rael, seemingly unconcerned, "Need help?"

"No..." Markkason strains, "I...got it...under control!"

The sound of bones cracking and flesh tearing shatters the creature's calls followed by a strenuous, "What the...!?" from Markkason before the pained, yet heroic barking of a large dog explodes through the clouded air as her silhouette reappears before us.

"Get off of him!" she growls as she pounces forward.

I push myself up from the dirt with my staff and run towards the dog.