The alarm bell knifes through the sanctum, and Kalazan is already moving. Through the warded doorway, he catches the first glimpse of Willow Dale, a dark ribbon of trees spilling corpses and skeletons toward Crag Crimson Rise.
A robed necromancer walks at the center of the horde, cloaked in black haze. The dead do not rush, they march like a practiced company, angling for the gate and the wall steps.
Commander Korth
Towers now. Archers to the battlements, blades to the gate. Move!
Kalazan snaps the hold into motion. Guards peel away in disciplined lines, and the family delegation breaks for their assigned posts, the strongest climbing to the towers while the rest take the wall walk.
The Horned Matron
Good. Let them see the bloodline stand its ground.
The Elder Kin grips the sealed reply pouch, then passes it to a waiting steward without breaking stride. The message to the dynasty is ready, but the mountain’s claim must be proven with steel before the kin depart.
Kalazan
Hold the line. Keep the towers manned and the gate sealed.
At the far treeline, the necromancer raises one hand, and the dead mass at the foot of the rise answers. The assault is no raid, it is a test, and the first wave starts up the slope.
✓ Quest Accepted
Repel the necromantic assault