The skeletal arm that had twitched in the dirt slowly dragged across the ground again, its dry fingers scratching softly against the soil. Everyone in the yard stared at it in silence. For a moment no one spoke. Even the workers nearby stopped what they were doing, their eyes fixed on the bones like they were expecting them to suddenly leap into the air.
Uzo scratched the back of his head and leaned forward a little, squinting at the skeleton lying half-buried near the trench.
"Alright… I'm not the smartest guy here," he muttered, "but bones usually don't move by themselves."
The arm shifted again.
~Click.~
The fingers twitched slightly before going still.
Lina kept her eyes on the skeleton while speaking quietly to the workers around the trench. "Cover it again," she said calmly. "Use the boards. Don't leave it exposed."
Two workers moved quickly, lifting a plank to place over the hole. They worked faster than usual, their hands shaking slightly.
The woman watched the scene without saying anything. Her eyes moved slowly across the compound, observing everything around her. The half-built guild hall stood tall in the center of the yard. The new walls surrounded the compound but still had gaps where construction wasn't finished yet. Fighters were scattered across the training yard, and workers were still moving materials even though evening had already begun settling in.
She looked back down at the trench one last time.
"Burying it won't stop them," she said quietly.
Uzo folded his arms. "Good to know."
Jide stepped closer, his expression calm as always. "You said something is raising them."
She nodded slightly.
"Yes."
"How many?" Jide asked.
Her answer came without hesitation. "More than you possibly want to deal with."
Uzo gave a short laugh. "That's not a number."
The lady didn't respond to him. Instead she looked at Lina.
"You should finish your walls."
Lina crossed her arms, her gaze steady. "We're trying."
For a few seconds no one spoke. The wind moved gently across the compound. The skeleton beneath the plank stayed still now, hidden again beneath the board and loose dirt.
Jide finally broke the silence.
"If the dead are rising nearby, we need watch rotations doubled tonight," he said. "No one patrols alone."
Lina nodded. "Agreed."
Uzo stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles. "Great. Looks like no one's sleeping tonight."
Jide studied the woman carefully for a moment before speaking again.
"You know about the dead rising," he said. "And you know Kael."
His tone wasn't hostile, but it was clear he wasn't trusting her either.
"If you're going to stand inside our walls tonight," he continued calmly, "you should at least tell us who you are."
The woman looked at him.
For a second it seemed like she might ignore the question.
Then she answered simply.
"Nyra."
That was all she said.
Uzo blinked.
"That's it?" he asked. "Just Nyra?"
She looked at him briefly.
"Yes."
Uzo sighed and rubbed his face. "You're not very talkative, are you?"
Nyra didn't react.
Lina watched the exchange quietly before speaking again.
"You fought Kael," she said.
Nyra nodded once.
Lina folded her arms. "Then you already know he doesn't make weak enemies."
A faint smile appeared on Nyra's face for the first time.
"No," she said softly. "He doesn't."
The wind moved gently through the compound as night continued settling in around them.
Night finally came.
And with it, something else.
A few hours later the compound had grown quiet.
Most of the workers had gone inside their rooms or tents to rest after the long day. Construction tools were left leaning against unfinished walls, and the large wooden frame of the future guild hall stood tall under the pale moonlight. Torches burned along parts of the walls where guards kept watch, their flames flickering gently in the cool air.
Despite the calm atmosphere, a strange tension hung over the compound.
Everyone remembered the bones moving earlier.
Uzo sat on a wooden crate near the training yard, lazily tossing a small stone into the air and catching it again. One of the younger guards stood nearby holding a spear while staring out toward the dark land beyond the walls.
"You're staring too hard," Uzo said casually.
The guard blinked and looked at him. "What?"
"If something's out there, it'll show up whether you stare or not," Uzo said, tossing the stone again. "Relax a little."
The guard sighed. "Easy for you to say."
Uzo grinned. "True."
Not far away, Lina stood near the gate speaking quietly with Jide. Nyra leaned against one of the wooden posts nearby, watching the compound silently. She hadn't tried to leave after sunset, and no one had asked her to yet. The group clearly didn't trust her, but no one wanted her wandering outside the walls either.
"Scouts reported movement earlier today," Jide said calmly. "But nothing confirmed."
Nyra's eyes remained on the dark land outside.
"Then they were already too late," she replied.
Lina studied her for a moment. "You've seen this before."
"Yes."
"Where?"
Nyra didn't answer immediately. After a short pause she simply said, "Somewhere worse."
That wasn't very comforting.
A guard walked past them carrying a torch before heading toward the construction trench area. He was one of the night patrols checking the inside perimeter of the compound.
The ground around the trench looked calm now. The plank placed earlier still covered the exposed bones, and loose dirt had been thrown on top to keep it in place.
The guard walked closer, the torchlight flickering against the dirt.
Everything looked normal.
He kicked a small rock aside and continued walking.
Then he heard something.
~Click~
He stopped.
The sound came from the ground.
He slowly raised the torch and looked down toward the trench.
Nothing moved.
The dirt looked exactly the same as before.
He frowned slightly.
"Probably just settling," he muttered.
He turned to leave.
The ground suddenly burst open.
A skeletal hand shot out of the dirt and grabbed his leg.
The guard yelled as he was yanked backward, falling hard onto the ground. His torch rolled away across the dirt, its flame dancing wildly as shadows jumped across the trench.
The bones beneath the soil began forcing their way upward.
A skull pushed through the dirt first, its empty eye sockets staring at the night sky. Then the rest of the skeleton dragged itself free from the ground, its bones scraping loudly as it climbed onto the surface.
The guard struggled to pull himself free, but the skeletal fingers tightened around his ankle.
Another arm burst from the soil nearby.
Then another.
Bones pushed through the dirt all along the trench.
The guard finally screamed.
"UNDEAD!"
The alarm bell rang seconds later.
~CLANG~
~CLANG~
~CLANG~
The sound echoed across the entire compound.
Doors flew open as people rushed outside. Fighters grabbed weapons while workers scrambled away from the trench area in panic.
The first skeleton lunged forward, its jaw snapping as it crawled toward the guard.
Before it could reach him, Uzo arrived.
He grabbed the skeleton by the spine and slammed it into the ground hard enough to shatter the ribcage. Bones scattered across the dirt like broken sticks.
Uzo looked down at the pieces.
"Well that was easy."
The bones started moving.
Fragments of the ribcage twitched first.
Then the arm dragged itself across the dirt toward the skull.
Uzo stared.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The bones began pulling themselves together again.
Jide arrived beside him with several fighters. He watched the skeleton rebuilding itself and immediately understood something was wrong.
"Don't waste time breaking limbs!" he shouted. "They're rebuilding!"
Another skeleton climbed free from the trench behind them, its movements jerky but fast. It lunged toward one of the workers running past.
Zara dropped from the air above like a falling blade. Her wings cut through the night as she slashed the skeleton cleanly in half.
The bones fell apart.
Then began crawling back toward each other again.
Zara frowned.
"That's unpleasant."
More skeletons were rising now. Bones clawed out of the dirt across different parts of the yard as if something beneath the ground was pushing them upward.
Lina stepped forward, her expression focused. She moved quickly between two skeletons and cut them down with precise strikes.
The bones collapsed.
Then started rebuilding.
She watched the movement carefully.
One skeleton lunged at her suddenly.
She spun and summoned a echo that struck upward.
It's blade smashed through the skeleton's skull.
The skeleton froze.
Then the bones collapsed instantly, turning into gray dust that drifted across the ground.
Lina's eyes sharpened.
At the same time, Uzo punched another skeleton directly in the head.
The skull shattered.
The bones collapsed into dust again.
Jide saw both moments.
"The skull!" he shouted loudly. "Destroy the skulls!"
The fighters changed tactics immediately.
Zara began targeting heads from above, diving through the air and crushing skulls with sharp strikes.
Uzo grabbed skeletons and smashed their heads against the ground like he was breaking rocks.
Lina's echo moved through the battlefield with controlled precision, each strike aimed carefully at the skull.
One by one the skeletons collapsed into dust.
The battle finally began turning in their favor.
Nyra stepped into the fight then.
She moved quietly but quickly, cutting through two skeletons before they could reach the workers hiding near the guild hall frame. Her movements were calm and efficient, like she had done this many times before.
Uzo glanced at her while smashing another skull.
"Nice of you to join."
She ignored him.
Within a few minutes the last skeleton collapsed into dust.
The compound slowly grew quiet again.
People stood breathing heavily, staring at the empty ground where the undead had been moments earlier. Gray dust drifted across the dirt in thin clouds.
Uzo wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Well… that was fun."
Nyra looked toward the darkness beyond the compound walls.
Her expression hadn't changed.
"These were only scouts," she said calmly.
Uzo blinked.
"Scouts?"
She nodded once.
"Yes."
At that moment a guard on the wall shouted loudly.
"Movement outside!"
Everyone turned toward the walls.
Beyond the compound, far out in the darkness of the ruined land, something was moving.
The sound carried across the night wind.
~Click~
~Click~
~Click~
Not one skeleton.
Hundreds.
Marching slowly toward them.