The Path

(Havn't had time to finish all of this but hopefully with time I can continue to add to this in installments. My grammer could use some work etc I know so any offers to pre edit for me would be greatly appreciated! Hope you enjoy! )

THE PATH


"Move gak you! At this pace that thrice damned filth could waltz his way ahead of us!" a young but stern looking knight roared, as he rode past a grumbling, tightly wedged formation of spearmen.

Rain poured savagley from the heavens, it's liquid touch all but failing to drown the disgruntled and cursing mass of soldiers that marched rythmicaly beneath it's ceaseless torrent. Among the flanks of the column rode interspersed groups of knights, their chargers beating pathways amidst the mud as they pushed them ever harder against the elements. Further along the rode through a final line of trees that would give way to their destination, the choruses of the damned could be heard. Picked up on the raging winds their death knells hit the ragged and bone weary soldiers with such effect as to make the raging storm above seem almost like a release.

Gregar looked ahead, using his shield as a parasol to block the rain that stung at his cheeks and obscured his vision. Amidst the line of trees and foliage up ahead, the shambling and stumbling forms of the dead could barely be made out. Their ragged and rotting corpses slowly shuffling to and fro like leashed warhounds eager to taste bitter sweet flesh. Gregar allowed himself a slight smirk as he pieced together the subtle hints of the poorly laid trap ahead. It was quite a simple tactic really but all too effective when applied properly, leaving a small force amidst dense woodland cover flanked left to right by the steep and rocky sides of the canyon. In essence it was a death wish for those left behind, somehow though he knew that their impending doom had never really registered with the monsters up ahead. Even if it had, would stalling his forces' advance with their lives really bother the already damned souls bound within the flesh?

Gregar shook his head quickly thinking it better to leave such philosophical queries for another time. Reviewing the sight up ahead he made note that the cluster of the undead moving through the trees could never possibly hope to defeat the forces at his disposal, bottle necked as they would be or not. Had the one that commanded them not been fleeing from Gregar and his forces, it would appear to be a wasteful and poorly thought tactic. Realisticly though this was the case with their prey, the upstart necromancer tearing his way recklesslesly through Talabecland and it's surrounding communities. All the while gathering more of the provinces dead to his banner on a constant trail of desecration and blasphemy.

After having put up with the matter for as long as his patience would allow, the local baron had finally had enough and enlisted the services of Gregar and his order. Once told of their plight the Grand master Nichodemus had seen fit to send a detatchment of the Knights of the Black Rose along with a compliment of fresh squires for "experience" as he had claimed, to aid the province in the scourging of this monster.

Gegar knew better though, since with the war in the north the Order was stretched thin, and had it not been for the timely return of himself and his men from their latest crusade in Araby, all that the order could have spared would have been the youngbloods. Himself not bieng more than thirty winters he thought it best that he treat the squires as well as the situation would allow. He scratched at the stubble of his chin not realising how far into his thoughts he had gone until he sensed the large and brooding presence of Ulric behind him. His companion and battle brother was a bear of a man, his armor having been specially crafted to fit his massive frame. His expression hidden beneath the molded dragon of his helmet he offered a curt salute as Gregar wheeled his steed to face him.
"What are your orders Knight Proctor?" he said in his usual gruff but clipped manner.
Gregar gave another quick glance to the scene along the road ahead.

"We ride through them and send them back to their rightful places beside Morr. We shall not be delayed by this pathetic excuse for a foe any longer. I am eager to head northward and this mockery of a hunt has taken far too long."
With another salute and a nod his companion rode back to the column that by now had almost caught up with Gregar and the lead Knights.

It was a cold and wet day already and he saw no point in delaying things any further.



A monstrous symphony echoed throughout the canyon, the sounds of fighting, loosed shots, and the ever present choral moans of the dead and the damned rising and ebbing like tidal waters.

Gregar pushed himself to his feet, gripping his helmet and tearing it savagley from his head. It had all happened so suddenly and, he still found himself reeling from the series of events that had just occured. The charge had seemed in good order, the knights up front Ulric and himself leading from the fore towards the trees, the dead turning slowly as if only just then noticing the mass of bellowing soldiers crashing into their midst. They had impacted with the first of the creatures tearing down scores of them in the initial rush but, then it all went wrong.

From amidst the footmen bringing up the rear massive gouts of earth exploded upwards men flying in all directions their screams drowned out by the monstrous constructs that roared as they began to pull themselves up from the wet ground. The creatures were immeasurably large their bodies made up from the remains of what had to have been atleast a dozen corpses or so. They creaked and groaned as they moved swinging their enormous arms at anyone or anything that came near.

His men had died in droves at the start, crushed to bloody wrecks beneath the awsome power of these giants. Gregar himself had been knocked from the saddle by the first of these creatures it bieng the only one to have uprooted itself so close to the lead knights, his horse was tossed through the air like a leaf it's back snapping against the trunk of a tree.The fight had begun in earnest and now the necromancers' plan started to piece itself together in his mind. It had been so simple he had never seen it, they had sprung upon the trap like a dog to an easy meal.

Shaking his head he tossed his ruined helmet down and gathered up his sword and shield, turning to Ulric who was just now rising back to his feet he gestured to the first of the three monstrosities.
"Gather the men these abominations must die!" he shouted.
Ulric nodded groggily and hefted his warhammer as he waded back into the press of men and monsters.

A slow but powerful arm barely missed his head as Gregar turned and swung back, his sword coming in low and removing a large portion of the creatures torso at an angle. It fell apart with a slight breath it's one good eye rolling around the ragged rotten remains of its skull. He almost swore that it had sighed in relief at a second death. He turned back to the fray as more of the creatures moved through the press of bodies towards him, as if drawn to him specifically. Gregar leapt to meet them bringing his sword about in a figure eight, the limbs and heads of three zombies falling to the ground just before their bodies.

Gregar fought his way through the commotion, each step bringing him closer to the looming behemeth that had killed his horse and so many of his men. He could see the other two engaged with groups of his men, each blow they inflicted coming at steep price. The monsters swung and roared with an eerily mechanical feeling, their bellows of rage issuing from the multiple skulls that were embedded into them, the sound scratching at his mind like a thousand nails on across glass. Their heads were alight with an unnatural glow, the light seeping from their eyes and mouths like a green mist. Gregar watched on as one of the creatures arched back the monster's collective corpses opening their mouths and issuing forth the vile green mist, the men in the immediate vicinity were overwhelmed their skin sloshing from their bodies as if it had rotten instantaneously.

Gripped by and immense anger he charged forward with renewed zeal, swinging his blade into a new opponent with each step, his fury matched by Ulric and the rest as the displays of carnage repeated amongst the other two constructs. Two more monsters fell to his blade similar sighs of release issuing from the pair as Gregar stepped out into the adhoc ring the fight with the monster had developed into. His men parted before him as he made his way to the beast his ire rising with each man that was brought low before him.

He rushed the golem his blade biting deep into what he assumed was the heel, an amalgous mass of arm and leg bones making up the majority of it's lower limbs. The mass splintered and cracked the force of the blow carrying his blade clean through the creature, all of the collective skulls opening and closing in silent cries of what he hoped was pain. The creature turned and he ducked low as it's massive arms sought to batter him to death. Rolling forward beneath it he came up to a crouch, pouncing onto it's back from behind and relinquishing his grip on his shield. The monster bucked and shook desperatly trying to disloge him, it's arms swinging to and fro, men and zombie sent hurtling through the air in equal number.

He grabbed out at anything he could use to gain purchase, keeping a hold of his blade becoming increasingly difficult in the wild enraged thrashings of the beast. The creature lurched forward and for a moment he caught a glimpse of Ulric as the man took advantage of the creatures focused assault on Gregar, and brought his warhammer smashing down into the beasts chest. The impact stunned the monster and gave Gregar just the chance he needed, scrabbling to what he hoped were the shoulders he locked his knees into a pair of fractured and broken ribs and brought his sword over his head, the weapon pointed down towards the center of his foe. He slammed down feeling the tip of his blade pass through bone and dried paper thin flesh.

All of a sudden he was flying through the air one of the creatures flailing arms contacting with his breastplate. The world spun and he crashed down to the groundstars exploding before him, his chest felt as if it was on fire and his body wouldn't respond no matter how hard he tried to push himself. Through blurred vision he could barely make out the fall of the monster as whatever his blade had pierced took the life from it its tremendous bulk crashing down to the ground. The beast shattered as it hit the floor, the corpses that made up the whole falling apart shattering and crumbling to dust, the magical energies that held it together dissipating with a loud crack.

The darkness began to consume him and he smiled.
"That was for my horse." he breathed as he finally succumbed to unconciousness.

He awoke with a start, his hands immediatly reaching for weapons that were no longer there. Gregar squinted as his eyes adjusted to the dim light pooring through the canvas overhead, looking around he noticed he had been placed in one of the ammo carts the handgunners of his force had brought with them to carry their excess shot and powder. He winced and felt more than heard a grinding within his chest. Even without seeing, he knew that atleast two of his ribs were broken, and one or two fractured.

He turned and rapt his hand on the back of the wagon seat, hearing the driver halt the horses with cries if "whoah" and the reins. He pushed himself slowly from amidst the bags of supplies and made his way off the cart past the canvas flaps that swung limpy in the wind.

The bright sunlight made him shy away, and it took sheer force of will for him to gather the strength to hop from the cart. Stumbling as his feet touched the ground, firm hands grasped his arms and he looked up to see Ulric, a fresh wound on the spot where his left eye used to be.
"Whoa there sir your still not well."
Gregar grimaced.
"Aye but I have no time to be dawdling about in a supply cart, not while that monster heads ever onwards wreaking havoc along the way. What news of the battle after my fall?"

Ulric looked off as if looking for the words.

"We lost a good many men but still hold fighting strength enough for our task. The
other two abominations were felled by our men shortly after you blacked out as were the rest of the damned. We head towards Stergud a local hamlet known of by a few of our men for the wounded to rest and to gain supplies."

He looked off again as if hesitant to continue.

"Well? What is it?"

"The chirurgeons strongly urge you rest, that your wounds are more grievous then they appear. We had intended to make for the township and allow you and the others ample time to recover before heading onwards."

Gregar said nothing, there was no time, it could not be allowed for their prey to continue his journey any further than he already had.

"We give the men two days after we reach town. We press onwards after that, any who cannot follow will come when they can."

His second nodded knowing better than to argue the point any further.

"This monster has gone too far. I won't let him continue his ways any longer and, I'll be dead and damned before I do."

With that Gregar moved to the front of the carriage and sat next to the driver. Ulric returned to his horse and ordered the men to continue on.

First things first, he thought. I need a new horse, as the column made it's way through the canyon.


(Side note* I havn't had the time to write in forever therefore I KNOW I am VERY rusty, don't be TOO brutal in your critiques thanks I hope you enjoy and I plan to write more stories with more depth as well as my armies backgrounds etc.)

hey bro this is a pretty BA story hurry i want to read the finished story lol good job bro.