The Necromancer
--

   The three men gazed at the road ahead of them, as they left the safety of 
Willow Dale. Al, a tall, blond human with a lean but muscular build led his 
traveling companions. Ged, the tall, dark-haired elf with a lean build brought 
up the rear, for he had incredible perception and could sense danger lurking. 
Professor Neil, another human but dark-haired and more muscular than Al, marched 
in between his friends, carrying the supplies.  Eventually the trio reached the 
River Dawn, meaning they were indeed traveling south as the map instructed. Al 
held his hand above his eyes, staring into the dark blue waters. "I guess this 
is the river," he said, pointing to the map.
   Ged and the Professor looked at the map and then at the river. The Professor 
dropped his bag and stroked his mustache. "Your turn to carry the supplies for 
a while," he said. "My back hurts."
   Ged shrugged and picked up the bag, and slung it over his shoulder. He turned 
his gaze to Al and said, "So how do you suppose we should cross?"
   Al tried to look thoughtful and said, "I don't believe the river is any more 
than a meter deep in the middle. We could just walk across."
   Al stepped in the river, grimaced at the cold, and continued south through 
the icy water. Ged and the Professor followed and before long they made it 
across. After walking many kilometers, the party decided it was time to camp 
until morning. It was getting dark and they needed shelter and a fire to keep 
away predators. Ged dropped the bag and fished out a flint and the sleeping 
bags. Al grabbed the sleeping bags and began to spread them out. The Professor 
reached on the back of his belt and grasped his hand axe and exclaimed, "I'll 
get the wood!"
   Al and Ged nodded absently and began gathering roots and berries. Soon after, 
the Professor returned with an armful of wood. After a hearty dinner of dried 
meat, bread, cheese, cooked roots, and a berry pie, the trio retired and slept 
all night long.  Birds chirped, to announce the dawn, and the three travelers rose wearily. 
Al scratched his head, stretched, and asked his friends, "Did either of you 
have any nightmares?" They nodded. "Unbelievable. I've never had anything like 
this."
   Ged exclaimed, "I dreamt I was being stripped of my soul and forced to become 
a mindless slave to some shadowy being!"
   Al's and the Professor's jaws dropped simultaneously. They all had the same 
dreams. Before long, the trio was back on the trail, heading south. After several 
kilometers, Ged stopped, and the Professor and Al peered back quizically. Ged 
held up his hand, for silence. Ged sniffed the air delicately and gazed up. 
"We're there."
   Al and the Professor joined Ged's gaze to see a gloomy, overcast sky. Shreds 
of black cloud decorated the sky. Al asked, "What is all that? Birds?"
   Ged shook his head and said gravely, "We are in the Necromancer's lair now. 
He is watching us. He's been watching us for quite some time, actually."
   Al nodded, the Professor gasped, and Ged started walking again. The Professor 
said, "What are we going to do?"
   Ged turned around and was about to speak, when suddenly dozens of shadowy 
figures appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. The trio drew their weapons as 
the figures charged. Al slashed with his shiny broadsword, which went right 
through the figures without even making contact. Ged leapt around with great 
agility, poking with his dagger, but his daggers went through the figures, too. 
The Professor, seeing the futility of fighting, took to his feet. He hadn't run 
far before he was captured. He turned around and saw his traveling companions 
out cold. Soon, he too was out cold.
   When he awoke, Ged tried to rub his sore head but discovered he was chained 
to the stone wall. Looking around in the ambient light, he learned his friends 
were captive as well. The Necromancer had gotten them. After some shouting, he 
roused the rest of the trio. They were very confused.
   "What is going on? Why are we here?" Al shouted.
   Ged calmly stated, "Shouting won't do any good. Those were wraiths that 
captured us. They only have ears for their master, the Necromancer."
   Al and the Professor gloomily looked at the chains which bound them. "What 
are we going to do now?" the Professor asked.
   Ged shrugged and exclaimed, "We're dead for sure!"
   As despair began to set in, suddenly the cell door opened. A very imposing 
figure slowly walked in the room and eyed his adverseries. It was the 
Necromancer. In a voice that was more chilling than the river the trio had 
crossed, he said, "You shall join my army of wraiths."
   Before Ged, Al, or the Professor could react, a muscular man suddenly 
charged through the door frame, with a very large battle axe in his hands. He 
swung the axe at the Necromancer, before he could react, and split him from his 
head to his navel. The bloody corpse fell to the ground and turned to dust.
   Ged blinked several times, and Al and the Professor just stared, dumbfounded. 
The muscular man picked up his axe and started towards the chained trio. He 
lifted his axe high, and brought it down hard, smashing the chains of the 
captives. As suddenly as he had appeared, he left.
   "Wh-wh-who was that?" stammered the Professor, as he looked at the door 
frame.
   Ged chuckled and said, "Why that was By-Tor. Actually, I believe now he is 
Prince By-Tor. He has been seeking the Necromancer for a very long time. I just 
can't believe we had a first-hand view of the fight."
   Al and the Professor breathed a sigh of relief. Soon the trio found their 
way out of the labyrinths and back to Willow Dale. They all lived very 
successful lives as musicians before dying very old men.

The end.