Kale found himself on a battlefield. Holding his scythe and axe, he wrapped his chain around a skeleton's neck. With a quick jerk, the decaying spinal cord shattered with flying dust. It smelt old, and musty. Kale didn't know something could smell old.

He glanced around cautiously. Corpses were everywhere, the sound of battle raging past the wall. Undead corpses killed yet again stacked with the first time dead. Kale looked up to the top of the giant stone wall that stood beside him. Kale was inside the walls, and the castle had obviously been stormed by the undead.

Atop the wall, several archer corpses lay, one was halfway hanging off the wall. With one foot on him, a giant, shadowy shape laughed and mocked. Kale couldn't see any details of the face, as the orange sun resided directly behind this fiend in a murky sunset. The large helmet with a skull in the front, and had four, flat extensions sticking off it, stretching eerily into the moonlight, casting their shadows around Kale's bloodied form. The warrior held no weapons, but casually crossed its arms across his chest, laughing.

Kale's eyes squinted trying to see his face through the skull helmet. That laugh was so familiar. From where? Where had Kale heard that laugh before?

Kale awoke in a sweat, sitting up in the bed. It was night now, and the crickets were playing their chorus. Kale felt his ribs pulling slightly, and decided he better rest it off before attempting to move.

Several days went by, and eventually Kale was mobile again. His ribs were still sore, but nothing like they were when they were broken. A cleric had visited him, along with Paige, the cleric set and healed the ribs quite efficiently, as well as the rest of him.

Kale now stood in the sparring field, watching several of the younger bandits slugging it out with assorted staves and clubs. Only blunted weapons were allowed to spar, nothing sharp or metal.

"Still going after the Baron?"

Kale smiled when hearing Paige's voice, knowing she was smiling, too. She always was. He kept his eyes on the youths, only slightly younger than himself, fighting with their vigilance and dreams, each seeing himself growing up to be a great warrior. Those were the days.

"Sigel wants you to come with us." Paige said lightly, still behind Kale.

"Why? Sigel still wants to kill me, is he going to try this time?"

"No, he actually doesn't trust leaving the village with you still in it. Plus, we could use another proven warrior with us now."

"Where are we going?" Kale asked as he faced her. Usually she was smiling, but this time, something more resembling a worried grin awaited him.

"We've not heard from one of the local villages in a several days now, Sigel wants to check it out."

"I'll go. Just give me back my armor and weapons, wherever you stashed them."

Paige grinned lightly, even the slightest glimpse of those lips parting to reveal that gorgeous smile made Kale feel weak.

Paige held true, leading Kale to an armory more less. After they rounded up his equipment, Kale put on his armor and fastened his scythe and axe on his hips, wrapping the chain slack around each handle.

"Come. We must go meet Sigel." Paige said lowly, as if this might not be a good thing.

"You speak as if he were going to attack me." Kale taunted lightly, joking of course.

She cracked open that smile again, and Kale was enveloped once more. How could this one person be so beautiful that just the smile could make Kale crumble?

They found Sigel and Gerron beside the stable, with roughly ten other men. The proper amount of horses were out, saddled and ready to ride. Several of the men stopped their chatter as Kale approached, and Sigel stared at him coldly.

"Who told you to give him his armor?" Sigel demanded of Paige.

"Who told me not to? Beside, he's be more valuable in gear he is accustomed to." Paige shot back as she mounted a pitch black horse.

"More dangerous if you ask me." Sigel snorted uncertainly at Kale, "Do you know how to ride?"

"Yes, I know how to ride." Kale spoke sarcastically, trying to sound as snobby and nasally as Sigel.

Sigel frowned, then grinned as he shook his head, "Come men, we ride."

Kale mounted the last remaining horse, a brown mare that had one of the finest coats he'd ever seen. Probably stolen.

At the end of the day, they stopped to pitch camp. Kale was informed by Paige that it wasn't more than half a day ride from them now. Kale helped them unpack the blankets they'd sleep on and start a fire. They had some rabbit that night, two of the bandits brought roughly seven rabbits for the trip, not including what they managed to catch. After they ate, it was time to sleep, and Kale was taken to his dreams once more.

The zombie shattered at the midsection as Kale cut it in half with his axe. The musty dust flew again, stagnant and rotting. Kale ran to a ladder, the sound of battle raged outside the walls. He had to get out there. As he began climbing the ladder, something grabbed his foot. Kale looked down to see a skeleton warrior's bony hands wrapped around his ankle. Kale looked up to see another one above him, standing over the ladder.

Immediately, Kale grasped his scythe with his right hand, still holding the ladder and his axe with his left. As the zombie above him grabbed the ladder, attempting to push it, the scythe whizzed through the air. The zombie's skull exploded into a thousand fragments. The body limply fell over the end of the ladder, and came crashing into Kale. The body was light, only a skeleton and a breastplate, so it did not knock Kale off the ladder.

Kale kicked at the other zombie as his scythe dangled on the end of the chain. Kale grabbed the corpse on top of him with his right hand, and threw it as the other skeleton. The zombie let go briefly, grappling with its fallen kin. Kale grabbed the slack of the chain and tossed his scythe back into his hand. He turned slightly as the undead reached for his foot again. This time, the zombie found the foot coming towards it.

Kale had turned on the ladder, facing the zombie. Kale's foot connected with the skull's chin, tearing the head off completely. Kale watched the helmet fly into the pile of corpses and returned to climb the ladder. He felt something grip his foot, and looked down to see the decapitated body grappling with Kale's kicking feet. Kale jumped from the ladder, planting both feet on the skeleton's shoulders. The frame couldn't hold the weight, and the skeletal visage shattered in a puff of dust and falling Kale.

Kale coughed lightly, and began to climb the ladder again. He felt another grip on his foot now. Not one like the fumbling zombies, this one held firm. A strong, almost crushing grip. Kale looked down and gasped as the shadowed figure had his ankle this time. Kale was up five steps on the ladder, and still barely above his head. Kale watched the hand tighten, felt the pressure on his ankle.

Then, with one fluid motion of his arms, the man ripped Kale from the ladder and slammed him into the pile of corpses about five feet from the base of the ladder. Kale gritted his teeth at the pain, then his eyes widened as he heard the man laugh. That deep, bellowing laugh, booming through Kale's head. Kale returned his gaze to his assailant, but he was gone. The laughter lingered slightly as Kale rose, heading for the ladder again.

As he reached the top, the sun was setting in an orange twilight. He could see several of those Caustrodon beasts outside the wall, tearing through armored soldiers and knights. The undead horde battled an army of righteous humans and clerics. Paladins and priests battled with them, as well as necromancers and ghouls for the evil army. Kale wondered if this is how things would end.

Kale heard a sharp scream and darted his vision to the right. Two archers both looked up and were preparing to fire. Then, in a blur, the large man was between them. The skull mask couldn't hide the smile of the laughing gargantuan. One of the men jerked hard as one of the fiend's arms tore through his stomach. Kale could see just short of the elbow sticking out of the soldier's back. As the second turned, he found only a mighty spin kick to his chest. The soldier coughed up blood as he flew from the castle wall into the fray bellow. The man laughed deeply, that rumbling laugh, grasping the twitching solder's head with his free hand.

Kale watched in anger and hatred, diced with a bit of horror as the man ripped the top half of the archer's head off. Separating the upper jaw form the lower, he held the top half over his head, pouring the blood into the teeth of the skull helmet. Drinking, laughing, killing. This is what he enjoyed.

The man stopped, outstretching his arms in each direction, slinging the corpse into the courtyard and the rest of the head into the battle outside the walls. His arms were outstretched as if to embraced Kale. Kale felt his grip tightening on his weapons as he charged. The man slowly lumbered towards him, walking slowly, yet with a massive stride that covered enough distance as is. Kale had gotten right to the helmet, it was all he could see, hearing the laugh, seeing the smile through the bloodied skull. This was it!

Kale awoke and grasped someone's hand, slinging them to the ground opposite of him. He rose in a fighting stance and Gerron did the same.

"Gerron?"

"Easy partner, don't make me break you. Its time to move." Gerron spoke slowly.

Kale gathered his equipment and donned his armor and prepared to move out as everyone else did. These dreams were unnerving.

Kale was lost in his thoughts again, merely following the horse in front of him, when Paige rode up from behind him, "I don't like that at all."

Kale glanced to her, a bit startled, then followed her gaze to the top of the trees. Smoke, only small streams, the fire must be going out.

"Is that the village?" Kale asked.

"I hope not, but that's about where it is." Paige spoke lightly.

Alas, it is the way things are in these situations, Kale knew it. These days, the politics were failing, action was being taken by governments and the lawless alike. Kale knew the village had been burned and destroyed before they even found the first sign.

They came upon a house on the outskirts of the village. There were roughly two cords of cut lumber in a stack. There was a stump, obviously were the wood was chopped, and several uncut pieces sat beside it. An axe was on the ground, sitting in a pool of blood. The pool had several streaks coming from it, leading up to and ending beside wagon tracks. The door to the house had been shattered inward.

Kale dismounted and ran to the door. Kale saw the streaks of blood before he was even 15 foot from the door, leading out and then into nothing, possibly carried at that point. Kale walked in cautiously, drawing his weapons. The house was torn to shreds, and there was several beams in the roof broken. The walls had holes and the windows were shattered. Kale noticed a cradle and was fearful to look in it. He mustered the strength and reached his hand in, yanking back the sheets.

Nothing. Thank god for that. There was, however, blood splattered on the walls and floor, streaks through it all. Some were from were the body had been dragged, but others had obvious finger and palm prints. Trying to escape, no doubt.

Kale stepped from the door, sheathing his weapons and solemnly shaking his head towards his companions. Paige dipped her head with a few tears forming and Sigel seemed all the more irritated. Mix emotions ran through the rest of them, except Gerron, who stared at something in the woods slightly detached from it all. He dismounted and began digging into the tree line.

Kale noticed a part of the broken door, and examined it more closely. It looked like knuckles, as if someone had punched the door before it shattered from its hinges. Maybe the punch blew it from the frame. Kale ran his fingers gently across the fist print.

Kale saw only in the color red as the visions flooded his brain. A woman screamed loudly as a baby cried and children begged. Creatures slammed their paws in from the walls and the windows. The breaking glass was followed by the door shattering from its hinges. The man ducked to come inside, several undead denizens behind him. A head in his hand, whoever was cutting wood. The head fell from his hand and he took steps into the room, the bellowing laugh ensuing. Kale saw blood flying on the claws that reached into the house, cheering their master. Kale saw a hand trying to pull itself away from something in a pool of blood and a sea of screams. Kale saw lastly the skull helm and heard the mocking laugh of this champion of death.

Kale came back with a flash of white, starring at his hand, hovering mere inches from the indention. Kale's eyes curiously crossed over his hand, wondering what connection he had with this family.

"I found something." Kale heard Gerron exclaim from outside. Kale would tell nobody of this, it even perplexed him.

Gerron stood there, holding a bloodied white clothe in his hand, most of the hunters gathered around it. Kale walked up slowly, "There is a whole house of blood, what is a piece of clothe?"

Gerron looked sadly to Kale, "It looks as though most of the bodies are gone, except this one. She was torn to shreds, scattered in the woods over there." He said this last bit with slight motions of his hands.

Kale walked into the area Gerron had been. Sure enough, someone was here. Well, someone was here, and there, and there, too. Kale felt a bit queasy as he looked over the female body that had been ripped apart by something, or some things. Gerron was behind him now, looking sad at the sight of this girl.

"What a cruel fate..." Gerron spoke softly.

Kale turned and took the clothe from Gerron's hand.

Again, Kale's sight was bathed in crimson. He could hear the booming voice laughing with the girl's tormented screams. A cackle of laughter arose from the surrounding zombies and beasts. Then, the barbarian spoke, "Oh mighty Zenedar! Except this humble sacrifice from your servant, Kilgore Groten! My the blood gods shine upon us all!" The laughter erupted and the girl's screams hit a climax. Kale saw the man on his knees, the girl before him. Then, the creature's watching began laughing more and more, cheering the man as the girl began to scream not from terror, but from pain. Kale could see several of the zombies skeletal faces laughing and cheering with what flesh they had left. Blood sprayed across them and they cheered loader as the girl screamed reached deafening points. An arm flew into the crowd, and they fell on it, ripping and tearing at it. Now Kale was in the back of the crowd, watching first person always. The girls screams were horrid, but the man laughed anyway. Kale watched as another arm flew into the crowd, then a leg. The girls screams went silent instantly with one rip. The man raised his hands to the sky with a roar, and the other creatures did the same. Kale watched as the man drank the blood from her severed neck, and the army cheered.

Kale's hand jerked back quickly. He did not know what connection he had with this family, but why could he see these visions of their deaths?

"Are you all right?" Gerron asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"I'm fine. We better head into the village before darkness falls. No telling if whoever or whatever did this is still around." Kale sputtered, slowly making his way back to his mount, only too disturbed by these findings in his mind and in his dreams.

More to come. CHB