laneys.info Beware of Yankees, drunks, and loose women.

Morning mist clouded the fields around them and to the east as Alexander awoke to the sound of the blaring trumpets raising the alarm. He quickly jumped up and began helping Sir Stephen don his armor.

"I want you to stay to the rear of the line with our horses. Understand?"

"Yes,sir," Alex replied, heart beating out a rhythm of it's own. As they mustered, Stephen and Kenneth unsheathed their swords and joined the long forming line of knights and fighters as Alex grabbed up their packs and raced them to their horses, then mounted to see the distant forests burning. A thick, dark cloud shrouded the sunlight and rose high into the clear sky. Adrenaline pumping, he watched as the enemy soon emerged from the fire and smoke to form a line of their own, beating their weapons on their shields which echoed across no man's land and through the forest around them.

Behind him, he heard the gates open and turned to notice knights and men of Eaglesham ride out to join the coming fray and assemble in front of the long line of squires. Suddenly, a haunting challenge sent chills up his spine and he looked back to the distant line of ghost-like warriors to see them march out as a hymn from the clerics, paladins and templar rose to pierce the tumult as they marched to meet the enemy.

Alex spurred his horse to follow behind and watched as they closed, then clashed. Steel, warcries and the screams of the undead erupted. Explosions of bone and rusted armor coursed along the line as spells from the more experienced of them repelled the enemy and then moved up to challenge the next rank.

Within moments, the undead began stopping the advance and pressed, polearms reaching out for a prize as shields rose in defense. As the sun rose to finally pierce the dark smoke that now faded before them, the fight became a mix of color and he realized that he didn't know where either of his knights were.

Wagons rolled up and began carrying away the wounded as clerics from the churches of Elminoir and Yaeby assisted those who had fallen in the defense of their city. He turned back to the battle before him in time to hear the most ghastly shriek that sent chills up his spine and stopped the battle cold. Blue eyes looked beyond the fight and into the dark sticks which the forest had now become whose ground smoldered to see a dark pillar of evil that stopped his heart. Glowing yellow eyes glared through the smokey barrier and he knew that the fight may not be won after all.

"Arhus!!" men yelled as a small group of paladins from the Order of the Golden Scepter charged through the undead to face the demon, swords and shields raised and Alex was sure he could see the demon smile. He watched as they neared, some faltering from unseen wounds, but push themselves to kill this abomination that had risen these men from the Kuzomen Empire to fight again. A mighty sword swung and cleaved two of the knights of Arhus in half as the remainder assaulted him from every flank.

His heart beating, he knew that if this individual was dispatched, the people of Eaglesham could live in peace. He drew his sword and leaped off of the horse and charged as he unshouldered his shield. As he approached the nearest enemy, they attacked as he blocked and feinted, trying his best to reach the army's goal and help defeat it. Swinging mightily, he cleaved the hip of the soldier to his right, then ran between two others as they tried to kill him, rusty sword blades swishing passed his helmet. Smoke rose into his nostrils along with the stench of decay and suddenly, sparks dotted his eyes with a sharp hit to the back of his shoulders and neck. He fell, watching skeletal feet run past him as he landed on the blackened ground as sights and sounds fa....