text: [Themes: fantasy, RPG, serious, zombie, war, fantasy]
  
  Blackness.
  
  Your mind is cloudy and hazy.
  
  Pain. You feel pain.
  
  Flashes of sound burst in the distance. You slowly feel awareness coming back, the world leaking back into coherent form. You are in so much pain. Around you you hear familiar sounds: Screaming, the butchery of men, the agony of rape, buildings burning, children screaming, and the cheers of the victors.
  
  "Where am I?" You think to yourself. Slowly you move your fingers, then your toes. A soft moan issues from somewhere around you. You realize it is you and you begin to make your stiff body begin to move again. First one arm, then your leg, then you slowly lift up and look around.
  
  You think hard to remove the fuzziness of the recent events from the corners of your mind and concentrate on survival. "I've got a concussion." You conclude.
  
  Finally, you peer through the dense smoke and realize that you are in a crater, the bodies of men, horses, and weapons of war surround you. The acrid smell of burning flesh mixed with the tinny smell of blood, the pain in your head, and the entrails of the man you ran beside all make you vomit.
  
  Strangely, you feel just a little bit better and your head is starting to clear, "I'm Sebastian, a mercenary, I chose to defend the city of Essitrea against the Turric . I don't think we won... I think I'd better get the hell out of here!"
  
  Looking around you a sturdy broadsword sticks out from a body of a Turric soldier, you recognize the blade as yours. You stagger over to the soldier and with effort pull the blade free from the man's corpse.
  
  Now armed, you know you've got to get out but amidst the rubble and the ruffians running amok, the sounds of battle in the air, and the thudding of artillery, every step could be your last.
  
  You decide quickly that you can either run building to building a fast method of travel but with heavy odds of discovery; try to enter the sewers, an obviously unsanitary means to travel but with less likelihood of discovery, or you can try to hole up in the nearest building and wait for the action to die down.
  
  > run For It!
  You grab your blade tightly and look around quickly before dashing over the lip of the crater and towards the blasted wall nearest your left side. Nearby an explosion spurts up chunks of earth and stone as well as the arm of a corpse, high into the air. You watch in horror as the appendage plops onto the sidewalk.
  
  From your left, three Turric warriors rush and assault an injured merchant, stabbing him repeatedly with their wickedly barbed scimitars before looting the man's corpse.
  
  To your right you see another building about twenty feet across some exposed ground.
  
  Do you:
  
  > attack the Turric Warriors?
  You attack the warriors with the advantage of surprise. Crawling low, you creep until you are at the edge of the wall you were hiding behind then you suddenly sprint with your broadsword lifted in both hands. As you descend upon the Turric Warriors, you swing the sword in an arc that splits the first Turric Swordsman's left arm from his body. You spin and use the heavy blade's momentum to make a second cut from the shoulder blade up through the man's neck decapitating him instantly.
  
  As the first warrior falls, blood arcing into the sky, the two others reel in shock. You take advantage of this momentary lapse of reason and bring a low slice towards the second man's knee. The blade connects and the limb is taken clean off. Following the blade's momentum, you raise it up and steer it into the man's chest.
  
  The third warrior has now gathered his wits and attacks viciously trying to slice you with his barbed scimitar. You back away from the first strike, block the second, and duck the third. His blows are coming faster than the broad-blade can react. Do you: Parry and look for an opening with the butt of your sword to stun the enemy or block with the sword and pull a dagger with your other hand and plunge it into his neck?
  
  > parry and Stun the Enemy!
  You conserve your energy and block his blows. Knowing the wild style of the Turric swordsman, you easily parry several wild blows. As he failed to strike he becomes more and more frustrated and you lure him into a wide swing and while he is pulling back, you step in his reach and break his nose with the handle of your sword. The stunning blow makes him stumble backwards and you press the advantage kicking him backwards and then turning your sword and driving it through his stomach!
  
  He squirms like a worm for several long seconds before you twist your blade and finish the job. Though you conserved your energy by blocking, you attracted the attention of a few more warriors. They come streaming out of a building to your right and you count at least five men, two with crossbows aimed in your direction.
  
  Do you: Run away or turn to face the group and take them head on using throwing knives to whittle them down before resorting to your sword?
  
  > run Away!
  Feeling like discretion is the better part of valor, you turn tail and run away as fast as you can. You are lithe and Agile and in light armor and the heavier, more armored men can't keep up. However, one of the crossbowmen draws a bead on you and fires. The bolt slams into your left shoulder and you scream in pain before skirting around a clump of rubble and ducking under some fallen timbers. The warriors curse as they try to track you but they walk past your position and disappear into the smoky ruins.
  
  You are injured and the bolt projects out of your left shoulder. You try to hold back tears as you reach with your good arm and gingerly touch the shaft. It's buried deep and you'll need a healer to remove it. You grimace and pull your first aid kit out of your belt. You find a few bandages and make yourself a sling and place your left arm in it.
  
  You are alive but now you are crippled. Without both arms your swordplay will be much diminished and you realize that your ability to defend yourself has been compromised. You will now have to use stealth until you can find an ally or escape altogether.
  
  Desperate, you must move on, losing consciousness in this state could be life-ending.
  
  Do you:
  
  > wait for Nightfall to Continue?
  Resting back, you decide to wait until nightfall to continue trying to escape. You hope that your stealth will be aided by the darkness. The problem is finding a decent place to rest. Carefully, you creep towards a building that looks promising. It is three stories tall but also damaged and missing most of the roof. You think that it is the least likely place around the enemy will look but you admit it's a gamble and a possible deathtrap if you get cornered by enemy forces with no where to run.
  
  Making sure no one is watching, you scurry from the rubble to an alley and with another quick look around, you duck through a hole in the wall and make it into the first floor. A quick search reveals nothing good. A family has been butchered, the man stabbed repeatedly, his wife raped and her throat cut, the oldest boy, perhaps ten in age, was stapled to the wall with crossbow bolts and still hangs there, his life's blood pooled and congealed at his feet, and the youngest daughter, about six? Well if there is a hell, who ever hurt her will burn there forever.
  
  You curse the gods at their apathy and resolve to never give up, never surrender, even if death is the only alternative! Better to jump from a building or cut one's own throat than to be raped and killed like a cowering dog.
  
  A noise takes you out of your revelry, you need to hide somewhere and fast! Rushing towards the staircase do you...
  
  > run Upstairs!
  You skate up the stairs taking three at a time and find a door at the top of the stairs. You pull out your lockpicks and begin to jimmy the door. Within seconds you hear the lock 'click' and you slide inside closing the door behind you. You hear a creak and some sniffling sounds somewhere in the room. It's very dark, all of the windows are shuttered, and you negotiate the room by sound and touch rather than lighting a lamp and giving yourself away.
  
  Following behind your sword, you investigate the dark room and try to track the noise before someone or something gets the drop on you. When the sound is made again, you rush to the wall ripping off a tapestry and see a that it hides a small doorway. You open it in a flash, sword back to provide a fatal stab. To your surprise a young girl, perhaps sixteen years in age is in hiding.
  
  You look at her frightened face, streaked with tears and the knowledge that none of her family made it through whatever happened downstairs. She screams at the sudden discovery and scrambles as far back in the hidden compartment as she can go. You curse your luck and say, "Be quiet girl! I'm not here to hurt you! Pray you haven't woken the neighborhood!"
  
  You quickly move away from the whimpering girl and check the windows. Sure enough two Turric Swordsmen and a Wardog are on the prowl. The dog starts to bark and drag the two soldiers towards the house.
  
  "Shit!" You hiss and move back to the secret compartment. Pulling up the tapestry you tell the girl, "No matter what you do, no matter what you hear, do not leave this compartment for the next few hours unless you hear me say 'Defender'." You slide a dagger her way and say, "And no matter what, don't let them take you alive, if this place is discovered, if this flap is opened and they try to take you, slice your throat, plunge this into your chest but don't let them take you out of here. No matter what!"
  
  You close the hidden door, drop the tapestry, close and lock the door to the first floor, and hide behind a desk. When those bastards come through they're going to pay dearly.
  
  The sound of heavy boots tromping up the stairs follow a barking dog. They try the lock, try it again, and then start trying to bash the door in. The door survives four solid charges before the door rips off of the hinges and the men and beast rush in swords drawn.
  
  > kill the Dog First
  You realize that the hound is going to be a noisy, dangerous problem and so you resolve to end that issue first. As soon as the trio of enemies rush into the room you pop up from behind the desk and throw three throwing knives at the beast. The first knife goes wide and lands knee level in the wooden wall, but the second catches in the jaw bursting it's teeth and jutting through it's muzzle, and the third smashes in the flanks sticking through it's hind quarter. The beast yelps pitiably and staggers backwards incapacitated.
  
  The beast howls and you leap over the table drawing both of your short blades. In close quarter fighting, your short swords and stabbing style will be a good match against the barbed scimitars the Turrics favor which require wide fast swings.
  
  The first Turric swings high and you duck and deflect the first blade while reversing your spin and cutting the soldier's leg off at the knee. The second swings towards your midriff but you tumble and his swing lodges in his already injured partner's ribs.
  
  You crouch and then spring low stabbing the second soldier's foot and slicing his sword arm off at the wrist. The second soldier screams and tries to stagger backwards but his foot is pinned to the floor. Rising you pull the blade free and jut the short blade up into his stomach pushing under his ribs until the blade pierces his heart and blood runs down his armor like a burst dike.
  
  As he falls back, you turn to the hound. You hate to kill such a noble beast but it was now time to end it's pain. A quick reversal of your swords sets up a downward thrust that pierces it's brain and severs it's spine. The hound collapses with a quiver.
  
  You wipe your swords on a soldier's sleeve and place them again on your back. You then collect your throwing knives and search the soldiers for anything they carry you can use. You ignore their damaged armor, barbed scimitars, and top-heavy daggers and instead collect their coin pouches. Thirty Silvers later, you check the windows. You are relived to see that there is no further action in the streets.
  
  Do you:
  
  > go into the Basement?
  You hurry downwards, using the stairs to enter the basement. At the bottom of the stairs is a cellar door. It opens easily into a pitch black room. You back up and decide to light your lantern.
  
  Now with a fresh light source, and broad sword in your other hand you begin to explore the room. The basement is dark and eerie, filled with boxes and other items of storage, small terra cotta statues, paintings and furniture with tarps over them, extra sets of candles, piles of clothes, and other errata fill the shelves, cabinets, and wall spaces.
  
  You figure that if you were to hide here, you'd probably be able to get the jump on any who entered here but you'd be trapped if there were multiple opponents. You reason you could probably take two swordsmen without difficulty but a larger group would be problematic.
  
  Do you:
  
  > search the Basement
  You decide to search the basement. You comb through the boxes, look through the shelves, and rifle through the cabinets looking for something that could help you with your escape from the city. As you are searching, you hear some noises coming from above. Quickly you duck and blow out your lantern.
  
  You can now light your lantern 2 More times.
  
  Tense moments pass but the sounds cease. after ten minutes you feel safe enough to try looking again. After about a half of an hour you have accumulated everything that might be of interest to you. It isn't much but these people were obviously merchants, not warriors and as such didn't store any warrior items.
  
  You find:
  
  Lantern Oil: Useful for lighting your lantern 3 extra times.
  
  > Crash here.
  You're tired, you've had a long afternoon and you have found somewhere to crash. You hope that this place is safe enough but in a city under siege, no where is truly safe. You find a little corner amongst the clutter and nestle in as best as you can.
  
  You place your broadsword to your side within easy reach and thank the gods you have your modified light chainmail. It's very comfortable to sleep in, especially compared to most armors. Covering yourself with a blanket you slip easily into the demesne of sleep.
  
  TEST YOUR LUCK: Pick a number between 1 and 3.
  
  > 1
  You sleep fitfully, your dreams filled with nightmares that involve you being caught by the Turric, held down, and cut into pieces and fed to wardogs with fiery eyes. Several times you jump awake and look about yourself hoping you haven't been discovered and sit for several minutes straining your ears for phantom noises but eventually give up the search and head right back into another nightmare. You aren't discovered but you really don't feel rested when you awake.
  
  Frustrated when you awake, you grumpily gather your few belongings and head back out into the city. It is now NIGHT.
  
  > NIGHT: Creeping in the Darkness
  You wait until nightfall and begin to make your journey flitting from alley to alleyway and make good progress though you occasionally have to see nightmares, at one intersection you see Turric soldiers by a scaffold where then men and women; soldiers and civilians both, are being hanged. You cringe as the men slap the horses underneath the victims and the prisoners are left to dangle helplessly in the air struggling as their weight begins to choke them to death. It takes over three minutes before the last of the men stops twitching, leaving the bodies swinging in the air.
  
  You move on helpless to alter the events of the sacking of the city. Stepping from an alleyway you later see hundreds of Turric soldiers leading hundreds more prisoners down a broad street towards whatever grim fate awaits them. You turn back and enter a building through a window moving across the floor and exiting out the other side. Most of the buildings have by now been ransacked.
  
  You exit out of the other end and creep into the next street. You immediately flatten against the wall as you see a Turric Deathwarden steering a group of hellhounds down the street. The flaming hounds are barking and growling but don't catch your scent. Taking a deep breath, you wait for the Deathwarden to pass and sprint for the next street.
  
  Finally, after over two hours have passed, you arrive at a massive barricade. The barricade is manned by a holdout group of Essitrean soldiers each holding crossbows. There have to be dozens of them all on watch. The bodies of hundreds of Turric soldiers lie scattered in the streets around the barricade though it's obvious the Essitreans are wounded and exhausted.
  
  > join them
  You pull your contract and slowly move towards the Essitreans making sure that you hold the contract high so that the tired and trigger happy soldiers don't mistake you for the enemy. As you enter into their line of sight, you hear the guards call out, "Halt and identify yourself or you'll be shot on sight!"
  
  You enter into the torchlight and call out, I'm Sebastian, a mercenary serving under the Essitrean flag, here is my lawful contract. I wish to join you."
  
  The men aren't much moved but a voice calls through the barricade, "Sebastian? By the Gods you're still alive? Boys, let her in, she's a friendly."
  
  You jog across the street looking both ways for any enemy snipers or troops and enter a small gate and go beyond the barricades. The gate is closed quickly behind you. The situation behind the barricades is worse than you would have imagined, with dozens of troops injured or dead, scorch marks from enemy mages, and decapitated undead minions lying like wheat after the harvest.
  
  A soldier approaches you and offers you a handclasp. You recognize him as Captain Krayler, a stern but effective commander whose forces numbered a full company, scarcely three platoons exist now and you see that by daylight only two dozen men will still be clinging to life. His face is grim and streaked with blood and dirt. he says, "What is the situation in the city beyond."
  
  You reply, "The city is lost, the Turric are killing and rounding up anyone they find and Deathwardens, Vanguards, and Deathmagi wander the streets at will.Those who aren't killed or turned into the Walking Dead are being turned into slaves. I'm sorry Commander."
  
  He nods and said, "I was expecting as much. The tide of refugees has thinned and you've been the first person we haven't had to fight in three hours. This is a tragedy, we watch the death of my beautiful home and the birth of another Turric Enclave. Such a blasphemy to the gods should have never been seen."
  
  You nod.
  
  He says, " I know you are tired and hungry, let me offer you some scant supplies and then we'll talk further."
  
  You are led to a chow table, mostly chunks of bread and a few sips of water from a canteen before he leads you to a chair. You have a seat and instantly the weight of the night descends upon your weary bones. The captain brings you a tightly wrapped scroll and says, "Bast, you've always been a reputable mercenary, I need someone I can trust with an important mission. I need you to take this scroll and this boy. He is the heir to Essitrea's throne. Though his home has been lost he can keep the noble lineage flowing and can rally any escapees under the Essitrean Banner so that one day we can take this place back. I need you to take him with you to the gates. Can you do this for me?"
  
  You ponder your options:
  
  > take the Boy and Scroll
  You nod, this was a grave task. "I will be proud to serve the throne, Sir. I will take the young lord and deliver him safely to his men outside the gate."
  
  The Commander nods and points to one of his men, and from a tent they bring forward a richly dressed but dirty faced little boy of about ten Summers old. Blood stains the front of his clothes but he appears uninjured. He wields a short sword uncertainly and there is both fear and stout resolution in his eyes. The boy looks you up and down, "I am to go with this lady?"
  
  You look to the captain who says, "Yes, Milord, Sebastian is an experienced and wise warrior and your best hope from henceforth, follow her, do what she says, and rebuild our city. Remember those who died for it."
  
  The Lordling nods and says, "I am honored to make your acquaintance Sebastian. Take my horse Arbalest he is a true steed meant for a warrior. The white pony is my own mount Bayerus."
  
  The Commander smiled and said, "Well that's that. We'll hold the wall, we are the last hope for anyone to try and escape this blasted place. I wish you luck Sebastian." You salute and turn to head for the gates.
  
  You begin the last part of the journey even as you hear behind you, "Ready men, here they come!!!"
  
  The sound of battle rings out behind you as you gallop for the Only gate left in the city still controlled by Essitrean forces. The last that you see of the captains forces is the zombies overwhelming the barricades.
  
  Less than fifteen minutes later you arrive at the gates with the Lordling. Men snap to salute as you and the Lord Ride out of the city into the countryside. You know not where the future lies but you realize that you have found the only candle of hope in the darkness that falls over the city of Essitrea.