Necropalypse: The River of Souls

Herst stares blankly at rol as he slowly checks all his pockets on the inside of the robes. From the show of it, it seems to be a loooot of pockets. Moments later however, he found them, in a sack.


"I may have forgotten these. Hay have died if I didn't bag them in a sealed and heavily enchanted sack when we were dealing with those giant beasts before..."

Herst removes the enchantment, speaking two words that radiate a darkness to them, before handing them back to their owner.

(PS: Using phone to type, trying to use any colours is a chore.)

"Whoops, I do forget things, sorry Val." Rol said in response to the Empress before thanking Herst for the explosive copies.

THe bounty hunter handed the bomb to Riaden. "Be careful, don't drop it, look both way before you cross the street. Oh boy, look at me mothering, they grow up so fast." He rambled.

(T'is okay, I only use the colors myself to distinguish between different NPC's.)


"Good thing that didn't happen."


"It's okay. We all forget things. Let's move, the further we are from the blast the safer."
Riaden ignored Rol and ran off to plant the bomb.
They all retreated back and stopped next to the ornithopter that had landed. By then Riaden was already back.


"Okay, Everyone look away from the blast. Because that's what badasses do it's dangerous for your eyes."

Three seconds later the bomb goes off and the sky gets a light blue glow. The glow dies down slowly. Where the undead once stood now is nothing but a crater and white smoke.


"Okay, now how are we gonna deal with the big guy? We should have a plan before Reganya releases it."

Herst was looking at his book by the time the bomb went off. The explosion didn't affect him, his clothes didn't sway from the blast of air, nor the pages of the book.

"May we keep him for your brother to deal with? Seems fitting."

Herst mentions as he puts the book away.

"Cut it up and stitch it back together in a way that completely immobilizes it."

Rol suggested moments prior to Herst's own suggestion.

"Or that, sure.. Where is Deathy again?"

"I guess that would be fitting indeed."
The big guy, in other words Reganya, nodded.
"Let's get this guy into the dungeons quickly. We still have work to do."
The empress stepped into the ornithopter. Riaden and Rol followed.

"My brother is still laying in bed. He hasn't woken up yet after being knocked out." Val responded to Rol's question.

The ornithopter took off and left Herst behind to catch up on foot because of his motion sickness.

-----
After locking up the big undead in the isolation cell of the dungeon Reganya rejoins the group as herself. "That was ... gross."
The Empress let out a small laugh. "How sweet, she feels bad for possessing someone that's not my brother."
"If I had eyes I would be glaring right about now."

---
Three days later.

The Empress gathered everyone in the War room. In the middle of the room is a large table shaped like the continent of Val. Dark clouds outside block the sunlight that the two enormous windows at the back of the room would let in. Instead the room is lit by several torches on the walls.

The Empress stands with her back to the windows and faces everyone else who are standing around the table. "I have bad news. Reports indicate several hordes of undead gathering here, here and here." She points out the locations on the map. The mountains to the north, the seashore to the east and a large graveyard to the south. "They seem to all be heading in our direction. They will plunder and destroy any village they come across and increase their numbers. The ones on the coast are the closest to us but the one from the graveyard will do the most damage as there are more villages on their path. And we can't let the ones from the mountain sneak up on us."


"I had word from Kiro and he said the DCGF has agreed to help. We can have them deal with one of the hordes." Reganya responds. The DCGF and the rest of ChaoZ are a formidable force and will be able to hold back an undead horde for a long time.


"The Order guild has gathered several smaller guilds together. They should also be able to help." Jazmine added.


"That's good news. We can send the DCGF troops to defend the towns to the south. And The guilds can probably take the horde from the mountains. Which leaves us to deal with the ones from the sea. However I have more bad news."

"Doomy?"


"Yes, my brother doesn't seem to be waking up. His condition seems to be getting worse. And without him we can't fix the river of souls."


"Can't ya jus' wake the bugger up?"


"We have tried. He seems to have slipped into a coma and we have no idea why."


"I can try possessing him to see what's going on."


"That sounds dangerous." Archon comments. He returned from being AFK somewhere in the past two days.


"Probably. But If he doesn't wake up we can't enter the source of the river. I have to try."

Herst remained silent, seemingly in ponder. Though he did make a mental note that when he leaves when the business is done, to copy all the maps her for later... research.

"Yeah, whoo Reathy!"


Time Skip Whoo


"Are there any strategies for them to deal with the undead since we can't kill 'em conventionally. Or are they going in woefully unprepared?" 


Rol asked. Being seemingly serious about the situation.

((Because Rol is on vacation I will have the Empress send Herst and a few NPCs to the town near the sea to deal with the undead. Meanwhile Rol stays behind to guard the castle and can interact with Valkyria. Meanwhile Reganya will attempt to wake up Doomy (which I will post in between as cutscene-ish posts). By the time Rol is back we should be almost ready for the final part of this RP.))


"They are aware of the undead not being able to die. I'll instruct them to evacuate civillians. And to not engage the undead directly but to try and set traps and slow down the hordes. Unfortunatly Mioki can't be everywhere at once. Her powers would help everyone a lot."


"There is only one Mioki!! Pointing!" The succubus in disguise points to herself.


"Right. I'm sending her along with the group that is going to the coast. After you are done I'm sending her straight to the mountains and then once that horde is taken care of she can go help out the last group."


"Mioki is going on tour!! Woopoo!"


"I'm sending Herst, Reaver, Jazmine, Cevea and Riaden to the coast along with Mioki. Reganya stays here to attempt to wake up my brother. Roltharus and Archon stay behind too, in case the castle gets attacked."


"So who will be in charge of the group going to fight the horde?" Jazmine asked.
"I vote Jazmine." Cevea responded.
"Like hel, Jazmine is no leader, I am!" Reaver objected.
"Shut up you tub of lard."
"What did ya call me you little-"
"Enough!" The empress interupted the fighting.
"Herst will be in charge. And that's final."
"I apologize your highness."
Reaver grunted but stayed quiet.


"Herst, I'm counting on you." The Empress said before signaling Rol, Archon ang Ren to follow her as she walked out of the war room. Leaving Herst and his new team to prepare for their mission.

"Oh boy, Fever's panties are in a bunch again." The bounty hunter said, just as he left the room with Val, Ren and Archon.

"Speaking of Fever. Herst'll probably make sure Mioki's tour goes well but Jizzy, Feaver and the Dwarf, who's name I remember but I just like saying dwarf, don't seem to be on the same wavelength man." He shrugged

"On to other important manners, do I have to patrol shit, or do your guards do that I we go help if trouble arises?" He asked, curious as to what guard duty entailed.

"Agh shuddap." Reaver yelled after Rol.


"I'm sure Herst can keep them in line... I think. Fever.., I mean Reaver, seems to be the only one that might pose a problem." The empress led them to Doomy's room.
"Right. First Reganya will try to figure out what is wrong with my brother. Please start as soon as you are ready."


"I'm ready. I'll start right now. We don't have time to waste." The empress nods as Reganya heads into Doomy's room. She then led Rol and Archon further down the castle. "My guards will keep doing their job. But I'd like you to assist them and help organize their efforts. You can also patrol from the sky." She says to Archon and points him to the guard tower. "Yes. I will do my duty your highness." He bows and heads up the stairs.

Val continues walking. Signaling Rol to follow her. "Talking about duty, yours is slighty different. With all these undead around and the possibility there are still assassins in the castle,.. an empress can't walk around unprotected in times like this now can she?"
She shoots a smirk at Rol. "I'm assigning you as my personal body guard. Temporarily of course."

---

Meanwhile in the War room Hersts team was waiting on a command from the team leader.

Herst stoop up and surveyed the area that he had to control on the map. He pulled a bag of tokens out of his cloak and set them onto the map, playing out where to station people, where the attack was to set in and the retreat options.

"So, again, I am Herst. I am not aiming to insult but I am agreed with the Queen that I am the best candidate to lead this team. I would to like to know more about you. Should we do this the easy or hard way, the easy being discussion and the hard being me ripping the info from your mind. I say this now, but I like to Micromanage. It makes thing easier in cases like this to have so many plans."

"He loves me, in a platonic way. I think." Rol said in response to Fever's remark.

The bounty hunter remained silent as Ren and Archon were sent to their jobs, hoping he'd be spared doing anything requiring effort. He sighed in relief upon hearing his bodyguard 'assignment'.

"Thank God, here I thought I was going to have to do actual work." He pretended to wipe sweat off his brow. He thought for a moment then said. "Oh, man. If I was suave enough to pull it off I have one hell of a pick up line for this situation."

"No insult taken. Cevea nominated me only because she trusts me. I'm better at operating vehicles than I am at commanding people in combat. My leadership skills are more for non combat situations. I think its best if I use the ornithopter to evacuate civillians. I could also provide air support with it.
Cevea is best at close to mid ranged combat with her hammer. She can cause minor earthquakes, make pillars of rock shoot up from the ground and smash people with her hammer." Jazmine responded first. Giving basic information about herself and her dwarven bodyguard.


"Mioki can sing! but you already know that! Mioki's music can slow undead creatures down and explode their heads!! But now their heads don't explode they just become killable. It's less fun but very useful. It works by making the soul less solid-ish. So when you hit an undead their soul spills out. Without a trapped soul the body is useless! Mioki also has songs that make people stronger. Or heal people slowly over time. Or confuse enemies but that one doesn't work on undead as well for some reason. Unfortunatly Mioki can only do two of these at a time. Mioki doesn't have enough arms to play more instruments." :c

Jazmine nudged Reaver to make him start talking.
"Agh fine. Aie am normally a combat driver but Aie couldn' take mah vehicle with me. Aie'm a better driver than Jazmine so ya should let me drive tha damned ornithopter."


"Yeah sure. On the ground maybe but you don't DRIVE an ornithopter, you FLY it. I haven't ever seen you fly Reaver." Jazmine interupted.


"Quiet you! Aie've been handling vehicles from before ya were born missy. Aie'm also good with a rifle Aie can shoot zombie heads off from two streets away."


"He isn't made for close combat though."
"Be careful, Aie can still beat you missy! "
"Are you seriously threatening to hit a girl?"

Riaden rolled his eyes at the arguing two. "I'm an assassin. I work with sharp blades, up close, throwing from far, doesn't matter they don't see it coming until it's too late. I can also paralyze targets with electric shocks by touching them or electrifying my blades. My specialty is taking out targets as fast as possible. I am also well versed in close comba- "
"Mioki almost forgot! All mioki's songs work better if you hear them better. So they're kinda area of effect thingies! Also I can do... Oh nevermind Mioki almost blew her cover!"

The others looked at Mioki with confusion. Unaware that she's a succubus.
-----


"Oh, you will have some work to do. I'm not letting you off that easy." Val Winked at Rol. "You can still try it. It might work, or in the worst case it would still be amusing." She chuckled.

'Info convo':

"Ignore the Bard, she has a past that she needs to stay hidden but forgets, though it has no importance. Trust me in that it's not worth knowing." Herst blandly stated as he shifted around the tokens based on what he is told.

"We will fight not in the open, but in the midst of the buildings. We can't save them, not with a horde against us. 

There were 8 tokens being used. 

*Note, the tokens are more like chess pieces if you don't know. Either metal or wood marker really.*

A skull marked where the undead were going to attack from. As Herst placed it, he looked upon the map before placing the next few peices.

A shoe marked the civilians retreat on foot while a feather rested where the copter could land and take off to evacuate those that won't make it on foot. Herst looked up at his band. "Have we a second pilot, I wonder? I'll have to dabble in my potions to pull it off, but I can possibly make a working replica of the Ornithopter of yours." 

As he said this, Herst looked back down and before someone could reply, more tokens were being placed. 

Birds were placed to mark air support's position once the people were on their way out, where it could easily move in and out of the fray and to check if any undead were berthing the battle to attack the fleeing people.

Arrows marked high areas where sniping was able to be done, however Herst looked at Reaver over and than removed those and moved it over to the air support.

He placed Daggers and Hammers at choke points for the assassin and Dwarf to possibly hold, often changing them around as he worked out a way to path the Undead to them.

"Something about bodyguards and obligatory body searches. Like I said, not suave enough." 

The bounty hunter explained with a shrug.

"Anyway. What duties am I up for then?"

"I see where you were going with that. But normally you're not supposed to search the body you're trying to protect. Just saying."
The empress let out a chuckle.
"As for your duties, mostly just escorting me while I go around doing work. Also keeping an eye out for any threats. I'll probably be writting a lot of letters and meeting some 'important' people. Both of those can get a bit boring so you'll also be there to keep me entertained."
The empress kept walking through the hallways as she talked. Her long red braid swung from side to side.
"And if you do a good job I might reward you." Val winked quickly, those not paying attention would have failed to notice it.

----

Meanwhile in Doomy's Room.
Reganya had entered his body and was synching with his mind. Colors flashed around her before fading and turning black. The darkness surrounded her but started to dissipate quickly.
She looked around and saw she was in an old barn. Stacks of hay were piled on top of eah other and seemingly formed a maze of sorts. She heard a voice that sounded like Doomy coming from beyond the stacks of hay.

Stepping forward, she entered the maze. Luckily for her she didn't need to follow the maze. Her powers allowed her to step right through the hay and head straight to the other side.
She was surprised that her powers worked in this dream world but didn't give it much thought. Finding Doomy was more important.
Suddenly she heard a cry and she started sprinting.

Once she reached the other side she saw Doomy and an old man. Doomy looked much younger and he didn't show signs of undeath. He was crawling backwards on the ground nd the old man loomed over him. The Old man was yelling in an angry voice and Doomy seemed terrified.
"..Abomination! If I had known what you were I would never have taken you in when I found you! I've contacted the witch hunters, they'll be here tomorow and take your filthy demon spawn ass where it belongs! You'll spend the rest of your days in prison with the rest of your magic using kind!"

When Reganya saw the young Doomy crying and shaking she stepped in. "What do you think you're doing to the kid?"
"Huh? Who are y- Wait you're a demon! I knew it! The brat already made a pact with one of you monsters!"
"I'm not a demon."
"You think I wouldn't recognize a demon when I saw one?! Normal people have a face! you don't, so you're a demon!"
"STEP AWAY FROM THE BOY!"

With the old man distracted the young Doomy ran out of the barn. "Wait, Doomy!"
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Reganya ignored the old man and rushed after Doomy. She burst out of the barn and saw him run into a field of corn stalks.
She went in after him but she lost him in the endless rows of corn. The old man shouting after them sounded from inside the barn.

"See, the wink normally means something. But knowing the combination of you and I, I'll probably get a cookie or something. Not that I'd mind, cookies are pretty swell."

The bounty hunter elaborated on his thoughts on the wink before he asked a question.

"When meeting these quote important unquote people must I be on my best behaviour? Or can I do what I see fit? I assume the prior because I'm crazy but I just thought I'd ask." 

"I think there are two ornithopters available already. We could ask the empress for another pilot."
"Screw that! I'm pilotin' tha second ornithopter."
"That's not up to you fat ass."



"That tower seems a good evacuation point. I bet an ornithopter can land there easily."
"We should get into contact with who ever is in charge of the town for more details."
"Agreed."
"Mioki is getting restless! Are we leaving yet?"
---
"Try to be on your best behavior but I can forgive a few slips. I won't be meeting actual royalty because of a severe lack of them in Centrea. The people I'm meeting are slightly less uptight than royalty tends to be... Most of them at least."


"As for your reward I still need to determine it's exact nature. But if you want I can add cookies as a bonus. Great, now I'm craving cookies." She shook her head and chuckled.
---

Reganya stumbled out of the corn field and right into a dark alley. The buildings seemed to be deteriorating and the ground beneath her feet was nothing more than a dirt road.
The young Doomy ran behind a corner and Reganya followed.
A scream caused Reganya to run faster.

As she turned around the corner she saw Doomy surrounded by a group of dark figures. He tried hiding in the shadows but one of them grabbed him. The figure said some gibberish words as Doomy struggled to get free.
Reganya attacked the figures. She hit one of them and it dissolved. She then turned to the figure holding Doomy but it stabbed doomy with a knife before she could react.

She rushed over to Doomy and the other dark figures disappeared. She caught the young Doomy as he fell to the ground. The bloodstain spread over the dark rags he was wearing. Reganya tried to speak but everything around her faded away before her words made it out.

"Aye aye cap'n." The bounty hunter replied, as he started fiddling with his guns.

"I'd say I'd make some. But I dunno if I can bake." Rol said, accidentally dropping some rubber bullets in the process.

Five hours later:


Herst and his squad arrive at the coastal town. One of the Ornithopters lands on the roof of the large tower in the center. The other hovers above the town as the squad walks through the towns gate. An old and skinny man stands waiting for them there.

He approaches, walking with a limp, he bows slightly before introducing himself. "Welcome to Nightvale the village of Saemor. I am the current mayor here and you are the help the Empress sent, right?" He looked at Herst as he asked this.

The village was very small. A sign outside said only 64 people lived there. The empty streets, which were just dirt roads, made it seem like there were even less. The smell of the ocean air was blocked out by the stench of death. Even though the undead were nowhere to be seen yet. And the skies were dark and clouds still blocked out any light. The sun had not shown itself ever since this all started.




-------


Meanwhile back at the Empress her castle:

The Empress and Rol were siting in the dining hall. Three other people were also there to talk to the Empress. One of them was the leader of a nearby armorers guild. He was a large man with a black beard that was way too long. The look in his eyes was stern but his actions remained polite so far.
Next to him sat a young man dressed like a noble but the Empress had told Rol the man was not noble at all in any way. He apparently was skilled at his job as a spy master though.
And lastly there was the elf. A representative of the High elven kingdom who had come at request of the Empress. The elven woman wore a purple dress and had long blonde hair. She didn't seem very talkative.



"The undead are at our doorstep. If we don't do something about them now it'll be too late. We'll need to work together to.."
The young spy master interupted the Empress."Your highness, we already know this. Yet times are hard and we don't have any resources to spare. Isn't it your job as our Empress to protect your servants from this Evil? Yet now you ask us to do that job for you."
The fat man from the armorers guild seemed to be more focused on the food in front of him than the conversation. And the Elf stayed quiet just as she had done since the meeting started.

Rol sighed, bored of the politics. He pondered to himself as loudly as the narrative wishes. "Are they even allies? The spy guy seems to be like a god damn pussy, but in the bad way, first to hide first to beg. Does -insert name of kingdom here- not have any like, impact on their economies?"

The Empress glared at the spymaster. "Good sir, you will NOT interupt me again. Understood?"
The Room suddenly turned dead silent.

Val then whispered back to Rol. "You're right. He is, but he is here on behalf of his boss, a much more reasonable person who couldn't be here. And we need their help. Unfortunatly."

She turns back to her guests. "As I was saying. While I do have a plan to stop this situation from escalating into a third Undead invasion we need to work together to minimize the casualties. While I prepare to put this plan in to action the Undead are already swarming over Centrea.


And we need to do everything we can to keep them at bay as long as possible. Make no mistake, I am not asking for your help, I am saying that I'm your only chance at surviving this catastrophy. And If I don't get your support now you can FORGET any future protection from me."

She then turns to the elven woman. "I apologize for the Spy masters rude behavior. In better circumstances we would have talked in private. But this is an Emergency and we don't have the time for such formalities unfortunatly. I hope you understand."
The Woman nods.




"As I'm sure you realize how dire this situation is for not only Centrea but the entire continent, Including the High elven Kingdom. I hope we can count on some of your aid in stopping this before it spreads beyond Centrea."
The Elven woman remains silent for a moment.


"The situation is indeed dire. But for now the Undead seem to be concentrated in the east. Far from our borders. I realize this might change in an instant but we can't send troops out for a hypothetical situation."






"My lady, I asure you this is no hypothetical situation. The Undead are spreading and its only a matter of time before they reach your borders. And while the largest hordes are in Centrea smaller ones might already be popping up elsewhere. Including inside your kingdom. Make no mistake this is a problem for the entire continent and it needs to be stopped NOW."


"..Your highness, you mentioned a plan to stop this? Are you certain it will work?" The leader of the Armorers guild asked.

"Yes."

------

After the meeting The Empress and Rol retreated to a small room next to the dinning room. It had a small table and a luxurious couch to sit on. Val sighs as she plops down on the couch.
"Meetings like that make my head hurt. And this is hardly the last one for today. Sometimes I wish I had the same amount of power My father used to have. He didn't have to ask for help like this he just ordered them. Then again the second undead apocalypse was the reason the empire fell this far in the first place. So all that power didn't help him a lot anyway."

"I realize this could change in an instant, but still nah? Man, are these people high schoolers writing an essay?" Rol said to himself.


----------------------------------------------------------


"Keep your head up champ, you're doing fine."

Rol tried to encourage Val. 

"Besides, too much power creates complacency. So I think your good."

"Thanks. I really could use a mandatory nap right about now though. Unfortunatly the Undead don't do naps so they wont listen to me. That's the whole problem really. If the Undead would just go to bed we wouldn't be having these apocalypses. But no they have to be little brats and stay up past their lifetime." Val giggled.


"Anyway you are doing a decent job as a body guard so far. Keep it up."
The empress got off the couch against her will. Knowing her next guests would be here soon.
"Let's go. We still have work to do." She headed back to the dining room.