Greenville Life Winter 2022 | Page 23

enhanced firearms ; a warrior woman armed with a pair of short swords and two throwing axes ( who appears to be of both elfish and human ancestry ); a hulking humanoid-shaped being made of metal who ’ s equipped to be a master builder ( but is also carrying an enormous sword ); and the newest member of the group , a young bard , armed only with her voice and a harp , both of which have magical properties .
››› PROLOGUE

Apart from the expected sounds of birds , insects and the rustling of leaves , a jungle is quiet ... some might say “ too quiet ,” as five explorers — accompanied by two zombies and three animated skeletons — cautiously make their way through the vine snarled underbrush .

The master of the five undead , a man wearing a dark hooded cloak , raises his hand toward the other living members of his party and holds a finger to his lips , signaling them to halt in their tracks and to be quiet and listen .
“ We ’ re not alone ,” the necromancer says quietly . “ I just saw someone running away from us and vanish into the jungle . I think we should error on the side of caution , because whoever that is might not like us being here and might bring back friends .”
To this , the other members of the party nod and keep quiet as they continue walking through the underbrush .
Along with the macabre wizard , the group consists of : a master of magically
After walking for a few more minutes , the party is startled as several dozen people armed with bows and arrows emerge from the trees , shouting at the adventurers in Elfish — a language that only the halfelf warrior understands .
As the defenders of the jungle surround the party , with their bows drawn and aimed , they mutter to each other and appear to be especially nervous about the huge “ metal man .”
Once the party is fully surrounded , a tall figure who ’ s both humanoid and dragon-like in appearance steps forward .
Wearing leather armor and carrying a spear and a wooden shield , the dragonborn glares and points at the warrior woman as he crouches into a fighting stance , challenging her to single combat .
( Cue suspenseful cliffhanger music )
WINTER 2022 Greenville Life 23