Dave wakes up confused and asked, "Where am I, and who are you?"
First of all, I don't know where we are, and second, my name is Rafael. Also, third, you should quit lying down there—get up.
Dave slowly stands up and said, "Do you have money?"
Hm… to feed your addiction? Yes, I have an offer for you.
Dave, curious, responded, "What is it?"
Work for me. I will pay you handsomely. Rafael tossed a gold coin to Dave.
Dave catches the coin and saw that it was a gold coin. He thought to himself, "This guy is rich… should I work for him? Hm… As long he has money, it's fine." Dave replied, "My name is Dave. Even though you look shady and wearing weird clothes, as long you have money, I will work for you."
Consider that coin as your starting payment. Now help me find a place where we can build a fortress.
They both hopped on the horse and started their journey to find a place where they can build a fortress. They chatted along the way.
"Why should we build a fortress?" Dave wondered.
It's because to protect ourselves from zombies.
Dave sarcastically said, "Oh right, zombies! What the hell are those things?"
They were once humans, but The Withered One resurrected them. They are walking dead corpses that thirst for human flesh. Once you get bitten by them, you'll be a zombie too. Their weakness is their neck—also their head.
Dave chuckled, "Sounds insane to me. I'll believe you if you give me some gold coin."
Oh… you'll believe me anyway. You'll see later.
"We're here at the seaside. You can go down now, I'm going to tie this horse over there," Dave said.
Alright. Hm… I should place the flag here. Hey Dave, let's rest now. It's going to be a long night—the sun is already setting.
Even though we had a bonfire, it's still freezing cold around here.
"We're close to the sea, of course it's cold. Why is it so foggy and what's with the weird noises?"
Birds' chirping sounded distorted, wolves' howling echoed through the forest, there was a brief of silence—and all of a sudden.
"Grrrrrr!" A zombie shrieked.
They're here! Draw your sword, Dave!
"Who was that?!"
There! From your right—it's running towards you!
"Oh crap! He looks hideous!" Dave swung his sword, severing the head of the zombie. "Phew, he sure is fast, but you can cut through him easily."
Hey Dave, watch out! There are more of them heading towards you!
"Shit! I have no choice but to use my skill—Brutal Charge!" Dave, swinging his sword back and forth, severing the zombies' heads. "This is just a breeze. I thought they'd be tougher. The only thing impressive about them is their speed. Hey Rafael, look behind you! A zombie!"
Rafael had a stare-down with the zombie and ran fast like he never did before in his entire life towards Dave, screaming. "Help me! Help me! I don't know how to fight! I don't even know how to swing a sword!"
Dave's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he saw. "Geez… I thought he knew how to fight."
Huff... puff... Huff... puff... I'm running out of breath help me, Dave!
Dave ran, charging the zombie and pushing it back. "This one is a bit tough, and he looks different from the others. I will put you to sleep now. Do you have any last words?"
"Grrrr!"
"Very well then, join your comrades." Dave swiftly cuts the zombie in the middle, starting from the top to bottom.
That was very gruesome. So, do you believe me now?
"Yes… Where did those things come from?" Dave asked curiously.
Those zombies came from Godscar. That is where they originated. Those are the corpses of fallen warriors that were thrown into the huge crater. They are filled with anger and rage because of what happened to them. The Withered One noticed it and resurrected those fallen warriors that wanted revenge—to wreak havoc in this very land.
"That sounded very alarming to me. Will they keep coming?"
Yes. Starting from today, they will keep attacking us every night. The ones you just killed are just a fraction of their force. Also, they will keep getting stronger each day. To be honest, we're not the only ones that are getting attacked by them—all of the other regions have been too, today.
"You're telling me the cities have been attacked too?" Dave asked uneasily.
Yes. I think they can fend off those zombies for now. Dave, do you know where the closest town around here is?
"The City of Caer is just nearby," Dave replied.
That's great! I need to find some materials and men to build my fortress. Let's go there tomorrow.
"Sure. I was planning to go there anyway. I'm going to take my sword and armor—this cheap sword will break at any time. Some of those zombies have thick skin. Plus, I need my armor for extra protection."
Alright. Time for shut eyes now.
"I'll keep watch."
There is no need. Those zombies will be back tomorrow night.
"No, I insist. Zombies are not the only threat here. There might be some bandits," Dave replied.
Well, if you insist.
Yawn… Oh! He's asleep. I thought he would rob me and run away.
"You know that I can hear you, right?! Why would you think something like that? I'm not that kind of person—I have moral values," Dave said, clearly offended.
I thought you were asleep, hahaha… I knew you wouldn't do that. If you'd do that, you should've robbed me from the moment we met. "Well, I can see that he's a baron."
Dave gave him a snob look. "Yeah right. Hop on the horse. Let's go to the city now—I'm hungry."
They went straight ahead to the city and talked about stuff.
"Rafael, last night what you said got me thinking."
About what?
"You said something about the cities—that they can fend off the attacks for now, something like that."
Oh, that. Yes, I'll tell you why. Because the zombies grow stronger each day, and there will be some mutated variants too. Also, their numbers grow too. Each day the city will be overwhelmed and eventually fall, because the zombies can attack everywhere. It's like a siege, but those zombies aren't afraid of dying—they'll swarm the walls and eventually climb up.
"But you'll build a fortress, right? How can you protect it if even a city filled with strong warriors can't even defend their own city?" Dave wondered.
All that I can say—it's because of experience. And I know how to tackle those zombies. I'm good in siege defense. "I wasted my entire life playing tower defense games."
"I will judge you if you really are capable just like you said. I'll swear my utmost loyalty to you and serve till death," Dave said, determined.
Sure thing. I won't disappoint you. Help me build a bastion.
"Uh… no. You didn't pay me to build that—find someone else," Dave replied.
Come on now, more people means the faster the work is done.
"Still the same answer. I won't budge… I can see the city walls now—we're close," Dave said.
Oh, that's nice. I'm really hungry.
"Yeah, I can hear your stomach growl."
Well, I haven't eaten in a day. I forgot to eat.
"How?! How can someone forget to eat?" Dave couldn't believe what he heard.
I don't know? Yes! We're at the entrance now—finally, I can eat delicious meat.