Chapter 100

The main road that led to and from was now indistinguishable from the surrounding landscape. The occasional wild animals can be heard rustling in the tall grasses of the unkempt gardens or hiding in the wild

Some doors had collapsed or were perhaps destroyed by the fire or animals roaming Either way they left a welcoming entrance, Broken walls and rusty pieces of metal littered some of the larger open areas, wagons stripped from all but their most useless parts.

once a growing community of hundreds of families had become nothing more than a painful memory. Bird chirping, animals rustling in the bushes and trees and the various animal sounds from stray pets and other wild animals had taken the place of the sounds of once a bustling community.

because now the town of Worcester has become a graveyard. as the soil is littered with bloodstains, and memories of the brutal circumstances that destroyed this place,

The silence that now engulfs the town is a haunting reminder of the atrocities that were committed and the lives that were lost. The only signs of life are the occasional visits from curious travellers who come to pay their respects to the fallen and try to make sense of what happened.

and again after days of silence, the sound of dragging feet could be heard as thousands of armoured warriors march once again through a vast, luscious field, which has become the stage of tragic death, and enslavement of hundreds, the air which would normally carry the delicate scents of flowers and fruits is now filled with rotting flesh and the putrid smell of decay,

a sight of pure nightmares.

Their number was overwhelming, but the sound they made was worse. Everyone in the patrolling unit that was conducting the investigation of the first fallen town froze in fear for a second, unable to move in the face of such horror. Then suddenly, they broke and ran for their horses, It wasn't as much a run as it was a rapid trudge. The sound of their moans and screams echoed in the land.

those Patrolling soldiers saw this horrible sight and were in gulp with fear they were not an army of the living but a huge army of summoned dead warriors

"ah! they are all ghouls, we should head back to the Avarel city as fast as we can,"

Every part of their being ached for an answer to this feeling of misery and any answer that could bring relief was one worth considering. They took a moment to gather their thoughts, but even this proved a hassle and a fear as conflicting thoughts corrupted their mind.

"faster, run faster! we need to tell everybody!

"spread out, tell everyone that the Rogue Army are summoned are ghouls!"

They all whip their rides as hard as they can, as blood stains from the horse ride are clearly visible now, but they are determined to keep going and proceed to inform the other towns, especially Stratford, whose residents just got settled in again after many days. The urgency of the situation was palpable, as they knew that the safety of other towns depended on their prompt action. With grit and determination, they rode on, hoping to reach Stratford and the towns after it, before it was too late.

The sound of hooves echoed through the deserted streets as they rode towards their destination. Their urgency was important, and their mission was clear - to spread the word and warn others of the impending danger.

the citizen from Stratford was still busy cleaning and repairing broken parts of their house when the patrolling soldier came into the vicinity of their town, he was shocked and sweating trembling with fear and directly ask where is their mayor, his manners were obviously forgotten and was agile and aggressive as he screamed at the people who where just clearing the debris on their home,

the way the patrolling soldier act in front of them made all of them became upset and decided that he was arrogant and doesn't need to be treated with decency and kindness,

"Where is your Mayor!"

"do you all want to die?"

the soldier's voice was loud and filled with panic when the mayor came out to meet him enrage by the soldier's attitude, but when the soldier's message was conveyed to the town mayor his face turned pale and began to tremble as he turned around to the populace with a scared look on his face and said

"The Rogue Army are back again!"

"and they are ghouls!"

the mayor felt like there wasn't much that could be done either way, so the best course of action was to simply deal with it and get on with their responsibility to save their citizens from death,

"Ring the bell tower, and leave the town now!

Despite the mandatory evacuation orders, many people did not leave, as the dead approached them for the second time. Even after their town was already occupied days ago and left in ruins and made their homes nearly uninhabitable, some people now refused to leave their homes,

Others may have chosen to stay due to a lack of resources or financial means to evacuate, while some may have simply underestimated the severity of the situation and the potential danger they were facing. Regardless of their reasons, staying behind put these individuals at great risk and made it more difficult for the patrolling officers and responders to do their jobs effectively.

Many of them were just too tired and deprived to travel back to the safe zone again, considering they were not treated and accepted well by the other town official in the town of Willesden,

The lack of support and discrimination they faced made it even harder for them to return. It was a difficult decision to make, but some chose to take the risks and prepared to leave immediately for Willesden despite the long travel back among the one thousand and four hundred residents.

A handful of rich families with enough extra resources were able to leave, but the rest could only wallow in their dire for those who couldn't afford to leave, and many were forced to make tough choices, so most of them would buy their child's seat with the remaining family heirlooms just to ensure the safety of their offspring,

meanwhile, the rest of the patrolling soldiers from Avarel continued to gallop and ran, they would scream from the top of their lungs so everybody that they would meet along the main highway would hear them clearly, The soldiers were on a mission to alert the neighbouring towns of the impending danger. Their loud screams were a signal for the people to prepare for battle or leave immediately,

" an army of the dead is coming, leave now!"

the ghouls didn't know which direction to go.

"Go right,"

the elder lich commanded. So without hesitation, they all started moving in a fast phase toward that direction.

Against a clear sky filled with swaying wheat fields, as the sun passed through far and near, the beauty of the landscape was enhanced by the gentle breeze that carried the sweet scent of wildflowers, creating a serene and peaceful atmosphere. The rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds added to the natural symphony that surrounded it.

After passing a rickety welcome sign, a few small cabins could be seen that was built for farmers to use as resting area. A road led to other ranches, some were in need of maintenance or at the very least a lick of paint, several barns housed the various livestock, and piles and piles of logs were stacked against the walls of the farm, The farm had a familiar feel to it, and the beauty of the landscape only added to this.

A Hill was separating the area going toward the other side of the land leading toward the abandoned town of Worcester 3 miles west, this terrain was developed to be the main agricultural area of Stratford as few farm warehouses were created to store the vast quantity of wheat and grain,

The hill also provided a natural barrier against strong winds and erosion, making it an ideal location for farming. The fertile soil and favourable climate in the area made it possible for farmers to produce high-quality crops, which contributed to the growth of the local economy.

but something else is coming down from that same hill, as the dead army had already reached the town border of Stratford in less than 5 hours,

while the remaining farm animals reacted as they all started to increase in heart rate, panting, sweating, trembling, and pacing, could be seen on the farm creatures physical reactions and some just urinated and defecated out of tremendous fear,

It was clear that the approaching threat was not just limited to the town of Stratford, but it had the potential to spread across the entire region if not contained immediately, the people in that town were already in panic and needed to act fast as they all felt the same dread coming towards them as a fast rate, at the town opening that was the main road to the vast half a mile open farming field and overseeing the hill that became their barrier was now being overrun by the dead army, the lust green hill became dark like black swarming arts were charging toward them,

Due to the circumstances, the remaining adult residents stayed,

and have to come up with a plan to defend themselves and prevent the threat from spreading further. all male and female elders, fathers and eldest sons quickly gathered their weapons and supplies,

meanwhile, their wives and daughters that was voted upon to be the ones who need to evacuate with their children, as they secured all of them on last the caravan wagon and join them on foot and carried some handheld weapons to protect the caravan from enemy stragglers. as the remaining two wagons filled with twenty kids were finally moving out of the town,

After leaving, they all emotionally said their goodbyes to their male family members, as they were given small arms like a knife to protect the wagon, even helped by pushing it to increase their chances of escaping. all the accompanying females watched the surrounding area carefully while walking for any potential threats. They knew that their journey ahead would be dangerous, but they were determined to protect the young ones at all costs.

At the same time, the town mayor took up his farming scythe and the rest lined up beside him with all manners of farming equipment and pray hard that their wives and children were now far from them, numerous residents from different races and social statuses joined together and face this impending doom head-on.

A mile of a vast golden field of wheat that was supposed to be harvested the following day might end to be their graveyard

"It is an honour to fight alongside you men, even if some of you Act snobbish at times."

"This not the time to say those things, we are about to die!"

"but still he has a point to speak these things now, Mr Garnald can be sometimes snobbish!"

"Realy! sorry if I act like that, I can't help it, I am a businessman it is a needed manner in any dealings,"

"We all know that, that's why Mr Rubben said Act!"

"you are just Acting snobbish, but we find it sad because you are not like that!"

"any way we can talk about that, right after we get back alive from this!"

"yeah! if we all do get back, looking at those things seems our chance will be zero!"

"Huh! what's that?"

"No! the question is who is that?"