As they prepared to leave town Mal stopped and informed Jarl he was in charge while they were gone. Most everyone respected the fierce elf so Mal foresaw no problems that Jarl wouldn’t be able to handle or at least stall until he returned.

Another thing that had been bugging Mal since they had left Clear Waters was his respawn bind point in the terrible event of his death. He had been really lucky and hadn’t had to respawn yet and as he read on the forums the penalties for death were steep. The solution to this problem he had spotted when he was doing his User Interface business earlier and he stopped his group by the Fairy Nymph Queen fountain to address it.

Making the selection in his UI Mal spent the prestige points to put a spawn beacon post right next to fountain and since he’d be gone for a while he spent the last of his points to upgrade the fountain a bit. Mal and Taliah set their respawn points for here then Mal gestured to Alison who was looking uncharacteristically timid.

“Do you think I’ll be able to respawn? Like an adventurer?” Alison said quietly.

“Only one way to find out, try the beacon.” Mal said giving her a friendly gentle shove.

Alison approached and touched the unassuming post sticking out of the ground then her face lit up into a brillant grin.

“It works!” She said cheerfully and Mal felt a certain weight go off his shoulders knowing that he wouldn’t lose Alison to some random battle forever. He was quite attached to her at this point, their whole squad was as thick as thieves now that Mal thought about it but Alison, well Alison was special.

“Great!” Mal gave Alison a hearty pat on the back. “Drink from the fountain guys, I upgraded it to have regeneration stuffs.” Mal said filling his hip canteen and taking a drink.

- Plus 5 to all stats and plus 10 percent experience gains in all skills, increased health, stamina, and mana regeneration, for 24 hours from drinking from Fairy Nymph Queen’s fountain.

The group waved goodbye to the workers in the fields in front of the Keep and around the lake. Mal was quite looking forward to freeing up the iron mine and getting some action in, the sun was out and a warm gentle breeze was on the air. Alison started up one of her lesser travel songs adding her own flavor to mood and Mal hummed along with her knowing this tune well from before. Morale was high Mal had to say even Taliah and Omega seemed to have struck a truce and weren’t bickering with each other about who’s magic was better.

Mal brought up his Character Sheet to review as they hiked back toward the motte and bailey fort as the iron mine wasn’t far from that. Another thing to put on the list of things to do Mal thought, restore that fort, but now they just didn’t have the manpower. Mal shook his head at the thought and focused on his updated stats.

Mal, human, Level 9, Class Spellsword,

Strength 31, effects melee combat Dexterity 19, effects ranged combat Agility 23, effects movement speed Constitution 29, effects total health points Endurance 30, effects total stamina Intelligence 24, effects total mana Wisdom 24, effects mana regeneration Charisma 25, effects interactions with others All stats +5 for 24 hours due to Fairy Nymph Queen Fountain Skills, Stealth, lvl 3, Sneak attack, lvl 2, Fishing, lvl 4, Dagger Proficiency, lvl 1, Blunt Weapons, lvl 1, Skinning, lvl 3, Woodworking, lvl 1, Herbalism, lvl 3, Crossbow Proficiency, lvl 5, Trading lvl 3, Throwing Weapons, lvl 2, Survival, lvl 1, Hunting lvl 1, Farming lvl 1, Manual Labor, lvl 1, Digging lvl 1 Class Skills, Blocking, lvl 6, Swordsmanship, lvl 7, Battle Meditation lvl 4, Blood Magic, lvl 1, Mana Proficiency lvl 3 Spells: Mana Blade, lvl 1, beginner, Spellshield, lvl 1, beginner, Brute Strength, lvl 1, beginner Abilities, Starkissed, Awaken Mark: Royal Casters Contract Title: Lord Commander of Keep in the Vale HP, 290, MP, 240, EP, 300, all totals +50 from fountain bonus

His highest stats were Strength, Constitution, and Endurance. Made sense Mal supposed since he was going with a melee and somewhat tanky build. Mal did want to see what he could do to boost his magic however because if they ever got into a huge like army vs army fight something like a meteor strike would have a much more profound effect than just hammering away on the front lines.

“Yo Omega, is there a Meteor Strike spell I can learn?” Mal said as they walked along at a steady clip. Omega snorted at him and even Alison gave a little chuckle at that.

“How about you master your, BEGINNER, spells first young pup then we’ll see about advanced magics.” Omega said rolling his eyes at Taliah.

“So there is advanced magics!” Then after a pause “...so your saying there’s a chance!” Mal said laughing but none of his group got the reference and just sighed or shook their heads at their silly leader. Mal did miss movies being trapped here in Planus, he supposed he could view one in his user interface but it wouldn’t be the same as sitting down with popcorn in a theater and enjoying a good comedy or action film.

Several peaceful hours passed with the group settling into their travel mode with Alison leading watching for danger as she sang, Omega, Sly, and Nena were the middle group. Lastly Mal and Taliah roamed around the whole group keeping an eye out for danger too while they harvested veggies and useful herbs.

Suddenly Taliah called for a stop. They were in the vicinity of the iron mine on the map Stalyx had pointed them towards. They weren’t far from the entrance to the valley by the motte and bailey fort.

“Beware! Me senses tell me undead beasties are nearby.” She said tensely and quietly to the whole group.

Mal drew his sword and the rest of the group readied themselves looking about for enemies. There was nothing in their general area that looked out of the ordinary however.

“Does your nature magic tell you how far or in what direction?” Omega asked her.

Taliah slowly turned in a circle and it looked like she was actually tasting the air before she pointed off to the northeast.

“Thattaa way. Not to far.” She said.

“Ok stay sharp, we don’t know what level these things will be.” Mal said glancing around at his companions.

“An injury this deep in the wild could be a death sentence…” Omega cautioned.

“I have faith in our abilities.” Mal said strongly then turning to Alison he said “Can you scout ahead all sneaky like.”

Without a word she seemed to vanish into thin air.

Mal, Omega, Taliah, Nena, and Sylvester started heading to the northeast, where the steep stone cliffs formed the valley, towards where the undead threat was apparently lurking. They went slow as to give Alison time to scout and also so they didn’t make too much noise. The tension was almost palpable among the group with enemies nearby that surely wanted to rip them to shreds.

Then ahead of them they saw Alison by a sharp corner of rockface she was peering around. She beckoned them forward with a finger over her lips indicating to stay quiet. Mal joined her and she held up 3 fingers and pointed toward the corner. Mal took a peek and saw 3 skeletons guarding the entrance to a cave. To Mal’s concern one of the skeletons appeared to be a caster with glowing ice hands of blue flame while the other 2 had melee weapons.

The adventurers had a quick huddle and whispered to each other.

“OK, Alison you sneak in and get in position for maximum damage. I’ll take the one with the sword and shield and Omega you take the one with the great battleaxe. Taliah you focus on the caster. Sound good?” Mal looked to Omega.

“A good plan young pup but beware the sounds of battle bringing more enemies from the cave.” Omega said wisely.

With firm looks of determination the adventurers prepared for battle. Mal cast Brute Strength on himself and he saw faint glows coming off of Omega and Taliah as well. Can’t beat magically boosted powers Mal thought to himself because his sword was much lighter in his hand with his buffed strength stat.

Mal nodded to Alison who vanished again into her stealth mode. The rest of the group waited three minutes for her to get into striking distance then Mal gave the signal and they attacked the unholy undead!

Mal charged the undead foes letting loose a battle cry that was almost involuntary as his mind and virtual body reacted to the moment.

“FOR NARNIA!!!” Mal shouted with a grin on his lips. He’d always wanted to say that and he was well through the back of the wardrobe by now surely. He lowered his shoulder smashing his shield against his assigned enemies shield in an attempt to bowl over the skeleton. The thing was strong though and stood firm against his wild charge.

Mal was vaguely aware of spells whipping and snapping on his periphery but his main focus was the sword arm of the undead before him. The foul creature obviously was intelligent on some level because it feinted with it’s blade than flipped it’s shield forward in a shield bash that staggered Mal giving him a bloody nose. Mal noted his health points dip 5 percent and grunted away the pain. Mal barely got his shield up in time to block the vicious sword slash that followed the shield bash combo.

Feeling the strength behind the blow Mal wondered what level these creatures were because his whole arm shook deflecting that last attack. These weren’t some darklings or kobolds this was undead spawned by a global event.

Mal decided to use the ace he had up his sleeve and summoned his mana pool and activated Mana Blade. The skeleton immediately fell back at the glow of Mal’s blue magic around his blade. Mal happily took the offensive and began to pour mana into his spell as he hacked and slashed at the defense of his enemy.

First he powered Mana Blade up then unleashed an armor shattering blow on the shield of the skeleton. The shield imploded backwards from the power of Mal’s spell and his added Brute strength. The skeletons entire shield arm was blown off from the impact and the creature let loose a hideous howl that added to the chaotic sounds of battle raging around them.

Wanting to finish this fight as quick as possible to aid his allies Mal poured even more of his spell force into Mana Blade and delivered a powerful backhand slash at the undead’s head. The skeleton managed to get it’s blade crosswise into a defensive position but it didn’t matter. His Blessed Darksteel Longsword cut like a laser with the spell power imbuing it. Mal cleaved straight through the defending blade and the skeletons head was sheared in half and the skeleton collapsed never to rise again.

Mal took a quick stock of the battle after having defeated his foe. To his left the caster skeleton was enveloped in vines up to it’s waist that were trying to tear it apart. The thing was still throwing ice spells at Taliah despite it’s predicament that were rebounding off her life shield.

To his right the skeleton with the battleaxe was engulfed in flame and as Mal glanced that way another fireball impacted against it’s great axe that it held as a shield. Further ahead of Mal the battle looked to be going worse for the adventurers.

There by the cave mouth 4 more skeletons had emerged. 1 ice caster, 1 archer, and 2 melee wielders. Nena, Sylvester and Alison were engaged in a desperate battle to hold these 4 new enemies at bay even though they were outnumbered.

A strong skeleton with a polearm was holding stalwart Sylvester at a distance peppering his rock chest and face with long pokes. Nena was trying to get at the caster but she was slowed by the nature of the ice attacks freezing effect and the caster was chanting for another cast. Alison was engaged with a skeleton duel wielding a longsword and poinard in much the same fashion as her rapier and dagger. The two of them were whirling and spinning with the blades flashing almost quicker than the eye could see.

Mal sprang into action.

With one leap to his left he was in range of the first ice caster and the caster never saw him coming. Mal neatly struck the undead at the base of his neck and parted the head from it’s body. It never stood a chance being so distracted by it’s rage to attack Taliah and the vines pulling on it.

Taliah took the brief respite as a chance to toss a quick healing spell on Nena and to cast her vines spell again but this time on the burning axe wielder. Now rooted in place and burning the skeleton with the battleaxe could only scream in anger at rage at the two casters that had done it in.

A single arrow suddenly changed the course of the battle.

Omega who was casting another fireball to finish the axe skeleton off finally and he wasn’t paying attention to his defense. The arrow shot from the very back of the enemy lines plunged into his chest. With a weak cry he tumbled to the ground and didn’t move.

“Heal him!!” Mal shouted at Taliah who hurried to Omega’s aid.

“Mal!! Help!!” Alison’s voice rang out above the chaos of the battle.

Mal turned back in time to see Alison’s shoulder get hit by an ice spell. Her dagger clattered away into the stones as that arm was affected the chilling effects of the spell. Alison was retreating from the skeleton using dual blades in front of her and with just her rapier for defense she was taking some small cuts.

Mal was already moving as fast as he could towards Alison closing the distance. As he ran he shifted his sword to his shield hand and lifted his crossbow off the clasp on his belt. He fired desperately with little chance to aim on the run. The bolt was effective though because when it whistled over the skeletons shoulder advancing on Alison the skeleton gave Mal a withering look causing it to pause it’s devastating attack on her.

Mal was finally in range and he took an overhand slash at the skeleton. The skeleton simply caught his blade in the V of it’s two blade’s and absorbed all the power of Mal’s desperate attack. Flicking Mal’s blade to the side the undead made a straight thrust at Mal’s gut that Mal intercepted with the edge of his shield but he still took a cut to his side as the blade slid past. Mal’s health dropped another 15 percent.

Alison took a few steps back from the melee while she tried to work feeling into her shoulder. Things were not looking good for the adventurers she saw. Nena the boar was flat on her side on a large sheet of ice her hooves could not get purchase on. Sylvester had fallen to the ground and the pole arm skeleton was still making fierce stabs at him. Taliah and Omega were under a thick dome like sheet of ice but Alison could just see the glow of Taliah’s life shield beneath the ice. Then she saw the archer lining up another deadly shot.

“Mal!! Look out! The archer!” She screamed in fear for her ally.

Mal instinctively ducked as much as he could and raised his shield higher while at the same time parrying the longsword of his foe. An arrow sprouted from his upper back on his deltoid where his face had been a moment ago. The pain rippled through Mal as his health dropped another 20 percent and he struggled to keep pace with the quick movements of sword play in front of him.

Mal tried to summon his mana but he had used too much too quick in the defeat of his first skeleton to be able to cast Mana Blade again. Mal felt a dark fear settle onto his heart as he saw how poorly they were faring. Yeah sure he and Taliah could respawn but death would be painful plus he would lose all his gear. Also he wasn’t sure his companions would be able to respawn at all he thought as he automatically blocked another ferocious stab.

Then in that moment of Mal’s fear Alison lifted her voice in the Song of Last Hope.

The song was focused on Mal and Mal alone. He saw visions flash before his eyes of everything he had ever loved and how temporary they were, even how temporary he himself was. The fleeting nature of life was laid plain before him and that you had to live it to its fullest of every moment of everyday to appreciate this rare gift that not all received. He sucked air into his lungs and cried out at the frail beauty of it. Mal saw clearly that he had to fight to protect those things he loved and the momentary nature of things could be stretched just a little longer if you only made the sacrifices to make it so.

A golden aura floated around Mal as Alison sang on until she fell to her knees from the effort of it but her song never faltered. Mal’s wounds instantly healed and his stats all boosted by 10. His hitpoints, mana, and stamina all went to levels he had never seen before and a wicked grin spread on Mal’s face as he cast Mana Blade and poured mana into the blue glowing spell.

With a scream of rage at his foe Mal hacked the skeleton in two and the block it made with it’s blades this time was like butter for Mal’s hot blade to slice through. The skeleton fell to the ground in two pieces cut at the waist. Full of euphoria at Alison’s song Mal dashed forward impossibly fast toward the pole arm skeleton.

The undead made a savage lunge with it’s polearm but Mal’s enhanced agility gave him what he needed to spin around the driving blade and slice down on the weapon splintering it in half. Sylvester wasted no time regaining his footing and charging the now pretty much weaponless skeleton.

Mal continued sprinting towards the ranged attackers at the back of the undead lines. He quickly cast Spellshield and raised his glowing blue shield before him to intercept the missiles flying at him. The arrow and ice bolt shot his way were harmlessly cast aside and then Mal was upon them. Fully charging his Mana Blade spell twice both ranged skeletons were quickly blasted into fragments in small explosions of bone messes.

Sylvester pummeled the skeleton that had so vexed his earlier attempts to bone dust. Mal finished off the one he had sliced in two that was still crawling around pulling itself by it’s arms. Alison finished her song and the Mal was back to being a regular adventurer. Mal handed Alison a healing potion that she quaffed with a thankful nod. They both turned looking fearfully at the bubble of ice that held their comrades and the badly injured Omega.