After introductions the squad got moving. The two kobolds, five Wyrms and David himself were a formidable force but still paled in comparison to some of the other groups that left the plateau before them.

  “Okraz, have we met before?” David rumbled as he couldn’t get the odd sensation of familiarity out of his mind. The kobold Emerald was also staring at him constantly, and he wasn’t sure if it was fascination or something more.

  “Long ago you came upon my waters.” Okraz peered up at David, “Saw you periodically making patrols before you disappeared.”

  David grinned wide as he glanced down at her. He remembered now the little fish eating Wyrmling in the deep caves. David wondered if his other sibling, the green Wyrm in the forest, was around here now as well? Did she get caught up in this mess or was she still headed this way? David rumbled in though before shaking his massive muzzle, his feet crunching against the rocky ground.

  “I remember you. You never did wish to talk to me.” David grinned down at her.

  Okraz visibility gulped and nodded, “I had my reasons.”

  “That you did. That you did.” David glanced at the other Wyrms and they were all reserved, quiet, and fearful. David let off an internal sigh but kept marching forward. He knew that he was intimidating to them all right now. The bark skinned folk had dubbed him the “Black Horror” for a reason.

  Their patrol route weaved in and out of the many mountainous valleys between the plateau and deeper into the mountain ranges heading towards the great enemy. Monitor Runners and Sabertooth Rats were plentiful as they went. Serthic bounced and sped around like a speed demon snatching up prey left and right. David didn’t have to force him to share after he filled his belly, and he was at least glad for that. He had a feeling the others wouldn’t be as generous but he would cross that bridge when the time came.

  The first few nights were dull, and uneventful. Every few hours the winged flaps of a dragon above would dash past from the plateau at their backs. David’s new found nostrils could pick out the individual dragons by their smell alone, and he was getting worried. Fewer dragons appeared to be returning, and the lingering smell of death was creeping closer as they patrolled closer and closer.

  By the fourth day they had slipped into a deep valley between two enormous mountains whose peaks rose up and past the clouds. The valley was so wide that a small forest and a large lake, being fed by the runoff of the nearby mountains, had formed. The group decided to take a break and Okraz practically giggled in glee as she disappeared into the lake in a flash. The shocked kobold, who David recalled introducing herself as Emerald, just barely leaped free from her back in time.

  Emerald was a curious thing who’s mastery of her earth affinity was refined to a degree that many dragons would probably be jealous of. It didn’t take long for Okraz to produce fish after fish onto the banks of the lake. It always surprised David by the sheer amount of fish in the most random of bodies of water but life found a way.

  The party ate their fill of fish and other game as they rested. The orange twins kept fighting among themselves but David ignored it for the time being since it was mostly just bickering. David’s nostrils were warning him about the coming fight. The strength of the rot was getting stronger, far stronger than their patrol route would explain. David was certain that the first of many fights for their survival was going to happen soon. As nightfall came David couldn't ignore it anymore and stood up.

  “Have you all had your fill?” David rumbled out loud.

  “More!” The larger Wyrm called Slath burped out.

  David peered over at him in slight amusement before snarling, “Unfortunately this meal is the last any of us will have for a while. Open your noses and eyes. Something is coming.”

  The mood shifted in an instant at David’s words. The bickering pair of twins stopped, and both Slath and Serthic quickly bounced to their feet. Okraz’s head perked high and she glanced into the distance. Both kobolds were ready as well as they both climbed back upon their respective Wyrms. David nodded his massive head in approval, at least their instincts were sharp.

  It didn’t take long for the source of the awful smell to make its appearance. At the other side of the lake a mass of flesh came stumbling out of the woods. It stood tall and David could tell it dwarfed even him at such a great distance. The thing lumbered forward unnaturally and then what appeared to be almost insects compared to it lunged forward like a wave.

  Their bonds flared strong and as David glanced around he saw that despite the terror in their eyes they were all committed. The pain and pull of their mother's bond was telling David even now that this was where he should be and he had no other choice. Fight or die.

  David let loose a heavy snarl and his voice boomed, “Let loose your affinities. Guard each other!” The ground shook as David slammed his massive muscular frame down onto the ground.

  All the Wyrm screeched and stepped forward, except Okraz who still floated in the nearby lake. The twins both let loose with their affinity in a blazing combination. Flames erupted from Ori’s mouth and like a flare sailed high. The ball of orange flame illuminated the rapidly approaching enemy force. The small lunging forms now revealed were clearly once orcs, bone and hanging meat was now all that remained.

  Ari’s affinity rocked forward in the same instance and ice materialized like flying daggers towards the oncoming horde. The sharpened points cut, sliced and shattered against tens of orcs in a flash, dropping the front line. The hordes kept coming and trampled over their fallen comrades without even a hint of noticing.

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  David's eyes widened in horror. This was like a zombie flick that he used to watch but far, far worse. He spread his wings wide and stepped forward as his own affinity crackled out.

  “Do not avoid my fog. It will benefit you.” David boomed as a rapidly expanding fog of Lingering Regeneration flowed outwards. The Wyrms almost jerked away, but David's warning pinned them in place. Okraz was too far but the other four gasped as the fog clung to and began to absorb into their flesh. Each giving off a soft glow as their eyes went wide with recognition.

  “What… this?” Slath gapped out. David just grinned before turning towards the oncoming horde and leap forward.

  “We all have our own affinities. This affinity will let you fight unbounded by fatigue!” David snarled out as he closed his jaws around a charging, rotten orc. His teeth slicked into the remaining flesh of the creature like butter and he flicked it effortlessly to the side as each half of the orc flew in opposite directions.

  The putrid rot of the flesh and some other lingering sensation bit into his tongue and mouth as the orc juices had splattered into his mouth. It was not just a simple rotten corpse, that was certain, as it hit him hard. Momentarily stunned from the taste, two rotten orcs impaled themselves on his forward spikes in their mindless charge. They bore their fanged teeth still and thrashed as they tried to bite through his armor. With a flourish and swipe he smashed both into meaty chunks.

  His squad wasn’t idle either and in the same few seconds they each moved independently of each other. Slath stepped forward and buffed up his chest as he slammed his forelegs down with a crash, and two walls of solid earth sprang up around him. These walls were each pivoted at a slight angle that funneled the walking corpses at him one by one where he began to dismantle them with his thick claws and teeth.

  The twins' polar opposite affinities lashed out as ice would slash apart a corpse, and fire would wash over the twisting remains. Okraz had begun to walk on the very surface of the lake as Emerald launched condense earth spikes from her back. She danced back and forth sending blooms of cold water forward. The corpses stumbled, tripped and trapped themselves inside the resulting mud and wet ground but unfortunately seemed fairly unphased by the water itself. Lastly, Serthic and Shooter were nowhere to be seen except for the occasional blurr of the dashing Wyrm and the periodic thud of an arrow finding its mark. The Wyrm’s claws were sharp, and they found their target as she slipped in and out of the massing horde to hamstring or cripple the orcs where possible. Shooter’s arrows would cause the orcs to stumble and fall back, but much like Okraz’s water the single arrows seem to just tickle the flesh of the corpses.

  Despite their efforts the unfeeling, groaning, mindless horde kept pressing forward. David’s massive bulk acted like a bulwark as he slashed, thrashed, and destroyed orc’s in the dozens. Soon he was surrounded and his fighting became all the more desperate, he cursed himself for not taking to the air when he could. He spared a glance around only to see Slath stumbling about as vomit periodically erupted from his mouth. The orc’s rotten teeth were digging deep into Slath’s flesh, and they were wearing him down faster than the Lingering Regeneration could keep up. David’s mind froze for a second as he took in the scene, poison? Venom? Where? Wait. He stomped on a pair of orc’s as the lingering taste in his mouth still stung. These creatures are poison itself, and if he was being affected by it then the others were fairing far worse. Shit.

  He spun like a top, his spiked tail acting like a battering ram as dozens of walking corpses stumbled and fell to their backs. He eyed Slath for a moment as he considered. His affinity usually has no effect on the dead, what would happen with these creatures? No time. He bellowed out in defiance and let loose a focused cone of healing breath. The soft glowing fog breath rushed forward to sweep over Slath in an instance, the look of horror on the poor Wyrm’s face in full display.

  David recalled learning in his studies that if you rapidly heated ice the gasses would form so quickly that the ice itself would explode. Whatever binded these creatures was in opposition to his affinity, as the very magic that binded each of them reacted like superheated ice. A great line of rotten undead began to explode in great upheavals of meat, and bone shrapnel.

  On one hand Slath was now free from the horde of undead, and the fog was working overtime to heal his wounds. On the other though, he was now littered with sharp bone chunks riddling his body. David shivered as the mental image of seeing gorey videos of shrapnel grenade shredding people in his past life flashed forward from his memory. If it wasn't for Slaths sheer bulk and the healing magic David doubted there would be much left. David mentally noted for the future, do not heal undead near allies because bad things happen.

  He let off a sharp snarl as he turned and swiped a skeletal orc head clean off, it flew a distance before dropping in the nearby lake with an audible splash. They had thinned about half but the twins were already nowhere to be seen. David grinded his jaws as he slapped his tail forward at the masses. He wondered if they ran away? No. Their bonds wouldn't allow that. Where? His eyes locked on a giant pile of shambling corpses trying to get at something and the realization hit him. He spread his wings wide and leaped, landing on top of the pile and began to tear apart corpse after corpse. He switched back to using his jaws and teeth too, despite the rancid poison like flavor seeping out of the very pours of each creature. Soon he uncovered what he feared as he found two mangled Wyrm bodies lying underneath.

  One of the two twins drew breath still but the other was so far gone David knew his affinity would do nothing. Acting quickly he shot out his wings to beat back the charging masses and picked up the Wyrm, cradling it to his chest as his muzzle spread wide. As he pulled the Wyrm in tight, but not tight enough to impale the poor thing he let loose a rumbling healing fog breath. The fog pooled around the Wyrm before shooting out around David at a 360 degree angle.

  David roared in defiance as the resulting chaos was magnificent. Ever since David came to this world he hasn't had the pleasure of an actual affinity that produced something with real violent impact. Now he got to experience it in all its glory and it was mostly painful.

  As David's fog expanded outwards it clung to and reacted violently with each and every undead orc around him. Masses of meat and bone erupted out in all directions. The flying bone shards sawed through lines of more orcs, and caused a cascade of collapsing bodies. David’s wings and body were curled around the smaller Wyrm like a protective cage and he suffered for it. Even as his own fog healed him, shards shredded his wings, cracked against his scales, and found the fleshy parts between his armor. David groaned in agony as he bled from a thousand cuts.

  As the aftermath of the explosion subsided David slowly pulled himself up and glanced down at the now wide eyed Wyrm, Ari, in his grasp. David rumbled and offered a nod, “I am sorry about your sibling. We will mourn later.”

  David’s eyes glanced up as the thundering monstrosity in the distance had finally gotten close enough for his eyes, and his nose to piece together what it was. It was a massive, full size Dread Dragon rotten to the core and was now a walking, undead fortress of meat. David sighed as the last of the bone shards worked their way out of his flesh, and scales. The fun wasn’t done yet.