Dust filled his throat and dried his mouth so much that Naota found himself coughing awake. He rubbed his head and gripped at his neck as he tried to cease the coughing, and even when it stopped his breathing was still ragged. He swallowed down against the burning and darted his dimly glowing eyes this way and that for any sign of an attacker. What happened? One minute he’d been on the continental airship and the next he was waking up to a land of desolation.

The moon was high and that startled him since the last time he’d looked at the sky it had been the middle of the day. From what he could see, hear, and smell, there was no one immediately around him. This wasn’t good. The scent of death filled his nostrils and left him covering his mouth as he pushed up on shaky legs. He followed the scent, fearing the unearthing of a dead body but instead coming across a patch of flowers. These were flowers that he knew, and his stomach dropped with realization for where he was: Tyr. What in the world was he doing in Tyr?!

It wasn’t the season of Krampus and he was in no way a child, so he ruled that possibility out. But this forsaken place was also known for its creation of liches. It didn’t take a genius to conclude that he, the most adept being at holy magicks in all of Revaliir, was a nemesis to them by nature alone. Yet he couldn’t recall the last time, if ever, that he’d had a personal encounter with one. Even so, why would one bring him here just to leave again?

Whatever the reason, he didn’t want to stick around to find out for too long. Though his curiosity was piqued. That and he wasn’t sure what would happen if he left. Would his pursuer just try and bring him here again? Or worse, would they target someone else that was close to him? His jaw locked at the idea. If nothing else he at least needed to find out who had done this. The ‘why’ could always come later, usually one begot the other.

Something darted just out of his line of sight, sending him to quickly pull Torinasu from his side to grasp in both hands. He was so still it was as if he was made of stone, but the end of his blade was pointed in the direction of which the shadow had danced out of the corner of his eye. Torinasu was going crazy with how much negativity it was able to absorb. It comforted him to feel it transmuting said energy into positivity which rushed into him. In a place like this he would need all of the boosts available to him.

Paradox had no recollection about what happened. One minute she was walking along the road, the sun was out and it was an overall very pleasant day, the next her feet were no longer on the ground and in an instant, she was falling from the sky. It took her a moment to realize what was happening, but by that point, she couldn't stop the scream from leaving her mouth. Her mane and tail streamed out behind her as her front pierced through the air at a frightening speed toward the dark ground below. The ground got bigger rapidly, taking up her entire field of vision. At this rate of speed, there was no way that she could survive the impact. Her scream stopped as she realized with utmost certainty that she was going to die.

Suddenly calm, she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. The feeling of her body smashing into the earth, her skin busting open as all the bones in her body shattered at once. Her mess of a corpse unidentifiable and likely never to be discovered again…but it never happened. She opened her eyes, slowly at first, knowing she should have hit something by now, only to find herself hovering several feet above the ground, her acceleration to the earth momentarily stalled. She puzzled by this, though it didn't last long as she was promptly dropped by the unknown force that held her up. 

She landed in a cloud of dust, the dark particles turning her white flanks a shade of ash gray on top of the dark smears from where she landed. She laid in a daze for a short while, getting her bearings. She was not on the nice mountain road anymore. Come to think of it she couldn't even see the sun, looking up, all she could see were grey clouds and occasionally the moon. The clouds were like the start of a snowstorm but doubted that any would come. Judging from the dusty dry air here, it probably never even rained either. She slowly got to her feet, trying to brush herself off, but stopping after it only made it worse. Standing still, she took in her surroundings.

Whatever this place was, at one point it was a city. She could pick out the remains of buildings and other structures, as she had landed in the middle of what used to be a busy street. She could still see some wear marks on the stone from where people had walked. Slowly, she followed the road through the city, her hooves clicking on the stone were abnormally loud in the still silence. Her ears flitted between forward in interest and back in uncertainty. She didn't really know how to feel about this place, but there was a strong sense of neutrality in the air, even borderline evil. There was a noted absence of positivity that unnerved her. Her tail betrayed her feelings as it flicked quickly back and forth. 

After walking for a short time, it became apparent that all the life that had existed here at one point or another was now absent. There were no people, no animals, no plants even. It was just empty, a world wrapped in gray. Dust appeared to be the only thing in abundance, causing her to cough every now and then, eventually forcing her to take some cloth from a saddlebag and wrap it around her face in order to breathe without issue. It was increasingly unnerving being here, alone. This was not a place she would have wandered through willingly, nevermind being dropped here out of nowhere. 

She rounded a corner, her nose wrinkling instantly at the smell of death. It was a strong putrid smell, that one never forgot. Her ears tilted back and she felt her hackles rise in a ridge along her spine. She suddenly felt a very dangerous presence nearby. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and a flash of metal. She whipped her bardiche out from its sheath and turned quickly on her hindquarters to face the figure. Her ears pinned back as she stood on her hind legs ready to charge. He stood silently with his sword facing her. 

BANG… BANG!  Bits of broken wood from a trapdoor flew out in all directions, Cedric smashed the trapdoor open and scampered out of the dark tunnel holding an extinguished torch, he dropped the torch and breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that he finally reached the surface, but the air had a horrible stench to it, the smell of disease broke through the thin iron mask, and the stench threw him into a coughing fit. As he regained his composure, the feeling of dread and despair loomed over him, it did not take long for him to dislike this place. The night sky limited his vision. He quickly started to think of how to get out of there. But his thoughts were distracted by the distant clattering of hooves over the stone road.

Cedric was cautious, he felt vulnerable, but his curiosity betrayed his logic and he started to follow the sound, time felt slower. He followed behind the sound slowly. Cedric climbed onto the roof of a building, He avoided touching the ground, preferring to follow along through the rooftops and pillars, as to not give away his position, but the stench grew stronger as he followed the sound, was the entity he was following the source of the stench, or was the stench guiding them to somewhere..? 

The sound of hooves sounded louder and louder. And the smell was stronger and stronger, then, as he was closing in on the source of the sound, silence.. Cedric was confused, but he was caught at a dead end. He has been trying to avoid contact with whatever is making that noise, either he could run, or finally satiate his curiosity, he chose the latter. He leaped and hit the ground, creating a cloud of dust and a loud sound of gravel being smacked, praying that they didn't notice the sound, he rolled over and crouched behind a low ruined wall, he could feel the presence of two entities. He soon heard the sound of a sword being drawn from it's sheath, he feared that he was finally discovered, and fleeing was out of the question, so he sucked in a sharp breath of air and drew his sword. 

… Cedric jumped over the wall, ready to slash whatever or whomever was out to get him, but as he looked at the figures before him, they haven't even noticed him at all, they were in a middle of a confrontation of sorts, but the sound of his feet colliding with the ground broke the tension of the situation.

Although he couldn't see very well, he felt their gaze fix upon him. He gripped the hilt of his own blade, waiting for movement.

Paradox remained in the position of levade, standing on her hind legs with her forelegs hovering several feet above the ground.  She held her bardiche in both hands, holding it across her body in case she needed it. She heard a sound behind her and wheeled on her hindquarters to face the new arrival. By the time she turned around and looked behind her, the first person had turned into a figure made of light. They got brighter and brighter until quite suddenly disappearing. There were no footsteps from them running away, they just vanished. As quickly as it had started the light simply snuffed out. Like a candle. She felt his presence just evaporate and she was momentarily saddened by this, it felt similar to when someone died and their soul simply left to go somewhere else.

But now was not the time to focus on death, a new soul had appeared and she again focused her attention on them. Whoever they were, they were rather tall and appeared to be covered in some sort of armor unlike any she had ever seen before. A knight of some kind. The slit where their eyes would have been appeared to glow red due to inner light.  At his side was a long broad sword, his hand holding tightly to the handle. As he wasn't making any movement to draw the blade or attack her, she dropped herself back on to all four legs and put the blade of the bardiche over her shoulder with one hand. She didn't feel she would need it with the knight, but who knew what else was in this place. 

She raised her other hand up, to show him that she wasn't a threat, though she was curious about how well he could see here. Between the narrow eye slit in the helm and the dim light and heavy cloud cover, it was likely difficult. She felt it best to call out to him before she made her approach. "Easy knight," she called. "I'm not a threat." Slowly she walked towards them, keeping her weapon leaning on her shoulder and her other hand free. She stopped in front of the knight, looking down at him slightly to see him better. "My name is Paradox," she said quietly. "What is yours?"

After speaking with the knight, she again turned her attention to the dilapidated city around them. The proud buildings now in ruins, the bright colors muted out to various tints of gray and the occupants absent. A memory stirred in the back of her head and she spoke her thoughts to no one in particular. "I've read about this place," she said, turning back to the knight. "This city, once proud and great, now set to rot forever. I thought it was just a story. This is the city where Krampus supposedly brings the children he steals, corrupting them with dark magic. Nothing lives here for very long." She gestured to the small flowers on the ground, the source of the death smell. "Even these death flowers will fade away soon. The death and darkness here is suffocating them, just as surely as it's suffocating us with this dust."  

Cedric felt relieved, his eyes adjusted, he could see only one figure, weren't there two of them? He couldn't have been wrong. Before he could say anything, she spoke, the voice was feminine, the figure was a centaur, she had introduced herself before Cedric could speak. He loosened his grip on his blade. Calming down upon hearing her words. The place didn't seem as hostile now that he had company.

"I suppose we better get back to the main land as quickly as possible." He remained silent once asked for his name. "I don't fancy dying in such a horrible place like this, but we don't know where to go to get out of here as well." Cedric looked at the buildings, the architecture, this place was unlike any he has ever seen. Although he had company, he still felt vulnerable. He lacked any map or compass to navigate around, but he didn't feel like blindly wandering until he reached shore, he decided to stick with the centaur for now.

While thinking of a plan, something else came to mind. The centaur was with another figure, wasn't she? Were they cohorts? Probably not, as he heard a blade being brandished before he jumped in, but the figure disappeared in a flash of light as he stepped in, there was a slight sorrow that added to the somber atmosphere at the disappearance of the other figure, but it didn't bother Cedric, so he moved on, but he felt curious and decided to push the subject.

"Say, what did happen to that fellow you were with?" Cedric said with a lighthearted tone to his voice. But before he heard an answer, he heard the raspy voice of an old hag, it was loud, and it startled Cedric. It echoed throughout the city. The old hag's voice spoke in a language foreign to him, he pulled out his father's journal. But the ground around them began to move, he had no time to translate the woman's words. He put the journal away, and realized that the old hag cast a spell, Cedric also realized the reason for the echoing voice; she was attempting to mask where she was. But if she had to hide her location in such a large city that Cedric and the centaur were unfamiliar with, she would need to be close.

Moaning can be heard, and the zombies rose from the stone streets. There were only a few, but the zombies had traces of necromancy, Cedric could detect the magic, but he can't pinpoint the source. The zombies moved slowly, but in the tales he read, a single zombie could tear a fully armored human alone, but their physical strength varied with the skill of the necromancer.

It was evident that the necromancer who called upon the zombies was an expert, but she must be close, the zombies she summoned effortlessly tore through rock to get to the surface. Cedric cast an explosion, flinging a couple zombies in all directions, but some withstood the attack and continued to march. He summoned an elemental of darkness to assist him in combat. 

The old hag necromancer began to speak again, chanting in a foreign language, Cedric readied a spell to prepare for another attack, fleeing won't be an option, if they were to escape the island without defeating the necromancer, who knows who she will drag into the island? What was her purpose for dragging random people into an abandoned island?        

Paradox listened with perked ears as the night began to speak. She agreed with him, that it was best for them to get back to the mainland and off this island as quickly as possible. He also brought up a good point that they didn't have the first idea of how to get out of the city. The young knight asked about the man she'd seen go up in a flash of light. But before she could answer his question, they heard an old woman begin to speak. Like the knight, she also jumped in surprise at the sudden noise in such a silent and eerie place. Beneath their feet, she could see the ground begin to move and shake. Her animal side taking over briefly, she stumbled around and circled before getting to the edge of the shaking earth. 

She felt a dark presence bubble up from underneath the dead grass and within moments the first hand reached out and lunged for the surface. Zombies. Though she'd never met any in person until now, she'd read several stories of them. They were just as ghastly and disturbing as she had imagined in her head. They weren't the natural kind either, as they got closer, she felt in them a type of magic. She pinned her ears. They weren't here to take them around the block and give them the tour of the city. She carefully drew her bardiche and held it up, making sure to keep the knight out of range. It would do her no good to accidentally dispatch her only possible ally in this wretched city.

She stood next to him, her flank by his shoulder so that she could glance down and see him without him actually being in range. "Do you hear that?" she asked him, her ears flickering back and forth wildly in order to try and hone in on the sound. She moved slowly in a circle as she numbered the opponents advancing on them. "Whoever is making that noise has to be summoning these things." She stared at the bloody and deteriorating figures in front of them, noting their steady advance. "If you can find her, we might be able to stop them. I'll hold them off." 

In a flash, she leaped forward, her heart roaring in her ears. Her teeth bared and ears pinned, she swung the large blade through the air, burying the sharp edge deep into the neck of a zombie and sending it flying. Twirling the polearm around over her head, she again brought it down into the skull of another. She reared up while lunging herself forward, effectively crushing a body beneath her while kicking out with her hind legs. She felt them collide with another body. She lashed out with her blade and hooves, her ferocity both equal parts awe-inspiring and terrifying. 

Cedric nodded and hid behind cover, tracing the source of power to no luck, the undead sprouted from all sides, the old hag knew tactics and strategies, scattering her summons in an effort to hide her location. It would take tremendous effort to locate her because of the swarms of zombies and their location. After a bit of thought and a few dead zombies later, he came up with a strategy. He had dealt with necromancers before, seen their ways and methods, how their magic works. He used this knowledge to his advantage.

Necromancers, when summoning zombies or other undead, the closer the necromancer is, the more powerful the undead they summon are, and as they get farther from the necromancer, they lose a bit of that power, it was from this knowledge that he deduced that she was nearby. Cedric decided to put this to the test when he charged up an explosion spell and bound it to a fireball spell he sent towards the East. The zombies fell upon contact, reduced to ash. He took a mental note of this direction, the East is where the least powerful zombies arise.

He announced this plan to his companion, instructing her to defend from the South-West to test his theory. His plan to pinpoint the location of the necromancer by the strength of the zombies she summons. It sounded insane, but it was worth a shot, after all, what other choice do they have?

He charged his fireball spell with an explosion spell, aiming for the North, zombies arose more frequently in the North, this could be a sign that the magic is stronger in that area, as he prepared to throw, the old hag chanted, once again in a language neither Cedric nor Paradox could understand, as a new horde of zombies, now accompanied by skeletons arose. Skeletons are less durable and they only show traces of enhanced power when they're close and tearing a person apart. She's getting desperate to hide her location.

But she wouldn't be getting as desperate as this if she couldn't freely move around from where she is, the necromancer can't move without being spotted, or she's trapped wherever she is. She was most likely underground, but Cedric had recently come out from a tunnel and he mysteriously ended up in this desolate city, it was possible that there is a maze or labyrinth beneath them.

This sealed it, he threw the fireball into the pack of undead and watched as they were blown to bits. The necromancer's control over the undead in the north was stronger, that meant he was getting closer to the real location. This ruled it out to South-West, Paradox had these directions covered, he'd be more useful watching fighting off the zombies in the North-East directions. He finally gave out his instructions to his companion.

"Try from the South-West, I've had no luck here, I'll watch your back!" He said to his companion as he dove into a horde of zombies, swords drawn. 

Paradox stood shoulder to shoulder to the young knight. He appeared to know elemental magic as well as the sword. After appearing to destroy the incoming assault of the undead, the pair had a moment's reprieve before another line of zombies appeared. Skeletons joined them in this group, which were almost as disturbing and unsettling as the zombies. She pinned her ears and lunged at them, swinging her bardiche skillfully through the air. She shifted her weight back and balanced on her hind legs as she made her way in a semi-circle. If they got close to her belly, she would lash out at them with her front hooves, sending them flying through the air.

She gave an equine sounding roar before walking forward on her hind legs and then dropping suddenly to crush the zombies beneath her. She heard bones crack beneath her mighty hooves and proceeded to slam them up and down again, pounding the dark creatures back into the earth. A zombie rushed her out of the corner of her eye and she stabbed at it with the point of her polearm, catching it heavily in the chest. She heard a grating sound, as likely the blade caught a rib or stern piece as it entered. She would make a mental note to sharpen it after this was over. A dull blade would be of no help to her. Flicking both wrists, she tossed the creature of the point of the blade. She tipped her ears back as she listened to the knight. 

He was fighting well and successfully from what she could tell. At the very least he was alive. Suddenly she heard his voice call out and for a moment she was concerned. That fear abated as she realized he was only giving her a direction to focus her attack. She was relieved that he had her back, as she wasn't able to see behind her well. Though she'd have to be very careful to avoid kicking him at that position. She backed up a step so that he was standing near her flank, so if the worst were to happen he'd only be cow kicked and hopefully not suffer any serious damage.

She oriented herself in a moment and then attacked the skeletons coming from approximately the southwest direction. It was difficult to figure out directly with the sun's absence. The sharp polearm was able to decimate the skeletons in only a few blows. It was interesting for her to see the damage it inflicted, which was easily seen on the bare bones. Once they were broken down, the zombies again advanced from her side. They didn't seem to be as strong as the first lot. Which she guessed was a good thing? She'd never fought a necromancer before, normally she'd go out of her way to avoid one. But such didn't seem to be the case in this place. 

"The ones here don't seem to be as strong as before," she called to the young knight. "Have you an idea on how to find the person summoning these things? I'm all ears." Swiftly, she was able to dispatch this group of zombies with minimal effort. She had finished her group of zombies for the most part. They were lying on the ground, either dead or dying. The ones that were still alive, she gave a swift end. She shifted her bardiche to her one hand turned quickly to assist the knight with his lot, who seemed evidently stronger than hers. She watched the knight carefully to make sure she stayed out of range of his movements before she attacked. She caught a brief flash of movement out of the corner of her eye in the shadows of another building. 

"There!" She called to him. As quickly and carefully as she could, she reached down and grabbed him by the arm. Avoiding his swords as best she could, she swung him over her back so that he was astride her shoulders. She hoped he held on as best he could as turned on her hinds, went a short distance before turning again and galloping forward. Just before reaching the line of zombies, she tensed her muscles and leaped upward. It more effort than expected, she was able to clear the line and make it to the other side relatively unscathed. She stopped near the building she saw the woman run into. "In there," she called to him. "Go! I can handle these."

Cedric paused to look at the building Paradox had pointed to, there was indeed movement, a desperate attempt to escape. Cedric picked up a small rock and threw it into the building through a small window. He had paused for a minute before snapping his fingers, the rock exploded, the rock was infused with an explosion spell, turning a simple rock into a deadly weapon. He didn't bother questioning the necromancer, as he thought she wouldn't talk anyway.

The walls crumbled and the building collapsed, the dust filled the air and the rubble blew in every direction. The necromancer buried beneath the collapsed building held a scroll with a strange symbol on it, Cedric thought to investigate further once he got back to his home, but first, he sat down and took a short rest, the remains of the undead withered away as the light of the sun rose and bathed the land in a warm, dim, orange light.

A few moments later, a cargo ship happened to pass by and he managed to hitch a ride. As they parted ways, Cedric finally revealed his name, but he immediately disappeared into the crowd of people disembarking the boat, perhaps they can run into each other on another adventure?

Only fate can tell..

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