By Tao (James Murphy)
The day was bright, I had helped kill a dragon just a few hours the night before so I was not feeling like a bunch of zombies were going to be much of a threat, I was wrong.
The idea was that there were zombies and other bad guys in Neden causing all kinds of problems. However because this was Neden there was also the spirit of competition, who could last the longest, who could kill (or at least search) the most zombies, who would kill the most other players. I recognized a few faces and thought it would be better to have a few friends. Fancy (may he find the inspiration to write beautiful music while his soul is away from his body), Sive, Meatball, a few others set out to see what help we could give.
Toah appeared briefly to help us with the zombies, but unfortunately was soon swarmed under the horde of zombies. this is when we saw the first of us turn to undead and switch to the other side. There would be more, much, much more.
Because there were so many of us together, we quickly became a focus point for many zombies. After quite a bit of putting down the undead, we encountered one of the strangest pair of monsters I have ever seen in Neden, (and that is saying quite a bit). One looked normal enough but did have the ability to throw small fireballs about the size of a large bean bag, the other looked more like a walking board, but with a hole that was in the center but almost to the top. I had been killed by some zombies that were in the area as well, but when I recovered, the board was dead with a triumphant Belle standing over its corps. At this point we figured out what was needed to take the down the other of them of them. We guessed they were some kind of symbiont enemies or something because we could pick up the fireballs the first one threw and throw them ourselves through the hole on the board to kill the fireball thrower as well. I am just glad we did not have to throw them from 27 feet away. One of the monsters dropped some kind of net thing that could catch Magic missiles, while the other a dagger that was especially sharp to undead.
About this time Sir Bones decided that he needed to return to His transport to get additional supplies, unfortunately I would not see him with a pulse again that day. The next time I saw him he was without a pulse and had joined the ranks of the undead.
About this time we had retreated from the main area but a wandering pack of green faced, accent speaking, goblins? Encountered us. They were very powerful and were not effected by anything we had. They quickly slaughtered us, leaving us dead on the ground to be picked clean by zombies that were trailing in their wake. I never did learn if they were effectible by anything as any time I saw them from that time forward I had to retreat.
This broke up the small group that we had put together and I spent most of the rest of the adventure on my own.
One of the times I was running for my life, I encountered the second most terrifying zombie I had ever seen. It looked like it should be my friend, it looked like it wanted to help me, but low and behold the pizza BOX zombie wanted to eat me. It made me sad to have to destroy a thing that should be bringing me comfort, it really tore me up. (that joke is for like, 5 people).
In my travels, I encountered Temorse and Grindin of Ashenmark. They had found a quiet place to just sit on a log. No zombies, no goblins, nothing. I talked with them for a while, and then moved on. Having learned the lesson of large groups make lots of noise. Once again movement was my undoing, as I was finding a nice place off the path to just kind of chill in the shade, several things started chasing me. In my hast to escape I did run into a few more zombies that were able to get the drop on me.
About 2 hours from when we started the field shrank; parts of where we were hiding and fighting were no longer accessible this made the day more challenging, and much more deadly.
Now was the time to play hide and seek with the monsters. I found a nice place behind a fallen tree and settled down for a nap. Unfortunately I think the violet pants may have given me away, as I woke up to being stabbed. It was time to move on.
By this time I believe only 4 of us had not succumbed to the zombie plague and we were hunted mercilessly. It was myself, Mogar, Temorse and Grindin.
In my will to survive, I called on many of the trinkets and wands I had picked in Neden previous to today. They kept me going for a while. Here my story goes a little dark. One of my items grants me divine aid in return for reducing many monsters to fine goo. I used it, a lot. Now I have often spouted that I don’t have issues with reducing monsters to fine goo, to me that just means they are less likely to get back up as it takes two spells instead of one. However some of these zombies were people I knew, like I said it got a little dark. When we have been in these situations in Neden before, everybody got up at the end. Today would be different.
At about this time I noticed Mogar with the zombies. it was with mixed feelings, I had survived longer then he did, but that meant fewer targets to hunt. I thought we were down to three, one more thing to be wrong about today. Mogar had been commanded/possessed? by some kind of yellow rage demon? Who was going around killing zombies and letting Mogar collect things from them. Once Temorse, Grindin and myself realized this we attacked him to free him from this curse.
So once again the field shrank. Now the area to hunt and be hunted was quite compact. I was out of tricks, almost out of life, and very tired. We had been doing a lot of fighting, running, more fighting, more running etc.
And here is where my free will story ends with a final confrontation and losing to overwhelming odds.
So yah, zombie time, as I noted above only three people on site were not zombies, that left a lot of us to hunt the few that remained. Now the Ashenmark due was using a device that they had acquired at a previous event that let them merge with trees. Which were everywhere. This meant that as long as they kept chanting they could not be effected. This was kind of bad news for Mogar who became the only target. So after resting a bit because surprisingly as a zombie, my knees still hurt, I started my hunt of the three remaining.
Mogar was the first to fall to my blade, most of the zombie horde had gone one way, I went the other and managed to find him hard pressed with his back to me.
Next went Temorse when he learned that it was just him and Grindin he kind of gave up and was an easy kill.
Grindin knowing he was the last survivor quickly fell to the horde and the day was over.
Back at the zombie HQ, many people reverted back to their human state, but a few did not. they had been scalped at one point or another and now took the full effect of that condition. Fortune was not with us, as Neden’s primary healer, Naj, was not there to recover everybody’s soul. Two people were down, Fancy of Rathkeale? and Sive of parts unknown. Priest Z, was able to call upon his Dark God and had enough power to restore one of them to life, but which one? Lord Syrus decided the only fair way was to have a vote. Sive won and was returned to life. I will make sure Fancy gets back up at the earliest opportunity.
By James Murphy (Tao)
monster survival hunt, exhausted, lots of running, lots of fighting, some fun new monsters.