”Did you hear the rumours?”
”What rumours?”
”That the zombies are gathering and planning something against us.”
”What the hell. You guys are retarded. There’s no zombies in this country.”
Exactly – she thought, while sipping on a cup of booze that was laid in front of her and immediately made a sour face upon the terrible taste of booze. Snow never liked alcohol but she enjoyed the luxurious taste of wine and champagne. The youth listened to the whispers of the men as they chatted away the rumours that were spreading around and apparently the ‘zombies’ was the one that was the most famous. On her lap was her companion named Vulpix. She was a quiet one, just like her owner. Her furry tails that were as white as snow brushed through her fingers while she slept on her knees, despite all the commotion that was going on around her.

More people began to flood in the inn and Snow was starting to feel uncomfortable. ”Let’s leave, Vul.” She whispered, leaving a small amount of jewels for the booze that was left unfinished. Once she was out in open air, a sigh left her lips – relieved that she finally had some space for herself. She was curious of the rumour about the gathering of the zombies and she wanted to find out herself whether it was true or not. She had expected that it was false but what if the results turned out to be the contrary.

Within the corner of her eyes, she noticed a group of people flocking around the mission board. Snow wondered what would be attracting this much attention from the people and approached them nonchalantly. Snow pushed herself through the mob, protecting Vulpix within her arms. Silver pools scanned through the board until her attention fell upon the words ’undead’. The girl pondered for a brief moment before ripping the paper off the board, concluding that she was going to do the quest. She prepared to meet the lieutenant of the Rune Knights, who appeared to have some information about the quest.

Snow stared beyond, to the direction of the headquarters that was located on top of a rocky mountain and proceeded towards the building. Upon reaching the gates, she would be stopped by the guards who questioned her if she had any concerns with the Rune Knights. Without saying a word, the girl raised her left hand on which she had her guild’s insignia tattooed on it and the guards would soon permit her to enter.

In a rather small, private room, she was allowed to meet her client – Marwin Awedin. ”Have you heard the rumours?” he began. The girl nodded in response, which only caused the lieutenant to let out a long sigh. ”I’d like you to find out what’s going on in the forest. It’s just right outside the gates of Era and if you find anything, return to me with details. And it’d be better if you go during the night.” The girl ended the conversation with a nod and left the room.

As dusk strikes, the young maiden set out for the gates of Era to investigate about the gathering of the undead. The day had almost come to an end, the sun casting its golden rays down upon the clouds of billowing smoke, turning them bright red; fire red. Scarlet, then amethyst, emblazoned the enormous sky, then it darkened to obsidian. As night deepened, random lights of fireflies blinked more frequently until the canopy below, billowing in dark waves, sparked with benign, green embers under a star-speckled sky.

Silence reigned supreme in the vicinity while harsh gales blew across the land of Era, her hair blowing behind her like a kite, the moonlight catching its ends and turning it silver. Vul rested on her shoulders, enjoying the view like her and nuzzled into her neck. Soon, they would approach the woods that surrounded the town, the forest so dense nothing could be seen from afar. Snow switched on the flashlight she had just brought and beamed it into the dark woods before she stepped into the massive realm of woodland.

The ground was spongy, like walking on foam and as she placed her full weight down on the ground, the earth seemed to hug her heels and gently release them with each step. She wondered how deep the forest was. It was still and quiet; the only sound she could hear was the rustle of the dry leaves and branches snapping underneath her boots. Vul would gnarl in her ear, as if informing her that a threat was within the surrounding area. Snow immediately switched off the flashlight and remained still. ”What’s wrong, Vul?” The fox continued to gnarl until Snow demanded her to quiet down. Carefully, she trudged through the forest, grabbing onto the branches that protruded from the trees.

In a distance was a speck of light, most likely from fire. Curiously, she approached closer, wondering who would be starting fire in the middle of the night. Figures would start to emerge in her vision and a big statue would be staring straight at her. The sight caused her to immediately hide behind a tree. When she was sure that there were no footsteps near her, the girl turn around to inspect the surroundings and made sure not to attract any unwanted attention. The statue that she had just seen appeared to be carved in a shape of a pagan god and people surrounded the statue, as if they were worshipping it. ”No doubt they’re cultists”, murmured the girl as she continue to watch the scene before her. The cultists chanted words that she knew nothing of, their hands raised into the sky.

The girl left the scene with information and she confirmed herself that these people were certainly resurrecting the undead. She could not believe her eyes but since she had already witnessed herself, this has to be reported immediately. Snow almost broke into a run whilst in the middle of escaping the scene, but instantly grasped onto a nearby edge to prevent herself from falling face down.