2 A Nobody Becomes a Somebody But Nobody Knows Him

The sight of Lineir and the undead on him was almost comical if it wasn't for the horde following. Like an adult chasing after a small child, there was a three meter high skeleton stretching out a tattered hand onto Lineir's shirt. Lineir, fleeing, was slowly gaining distance taking three steps to every one of the giant skeleton's but he was hampered as his shirt refused to stretch any further and was dragged back. As it seemed like he would be unable to escape the undead's grasp, finally, the cloth gave out and ripped completely off and Lineir was free!

Twang! Thunk!

He immediately dived for the floor as arrow after arrow whistled overhead. The guards hadn't bothered to wait for Lineir to be free. If his clothes hadn't been so worn then he definitely would be spikier than a porcupine right now! Fortunately, as it was instead the skeleton above had been hit by arrow after arrow, each head etched with enchanted steel burning into the rotting flesh and turning it to dust.

Lineir could not help but breath a sigh of relief, when the towering figure behind him, though filled with great holes, began to slowly lumber forward. It was an undead of such a high level that even weakened by runic arrows, it would continue to march forward. Lineir hastily scrambled up and ran, rapidly putting distance between himself and the terrifying juggernaut behind him. The gate had shut out the horde behind him, and they were beating on the runic wrought arcs, and they couldn't break through, but the original higher level skeleton was already through the gates! The guards panicked and continued to fire arrows,

"Undead in the city!"

They cried over and over. Knowing that he was hardly a combatant, Lineir made his escape, leaving the situation behind him to the guards and whoever heard their cries. As he hurried to the small little apartment he shared with his sister, which conveniently close to the outskirts of the city, he saw three white robed figures flying above. With a start he realized that these were experts of the White Horizon Sect who were rarely seen outside the inner cities where they meditated in seclusion. They had actually roused themselves for a situation that Lineir had caused!

Lineir immediately ducked into an alleyway. If he was discovered to be responsible for such a troubling matter, it would be a disaster! A nobody like Lineir would pay for his transgressions with his life! Whether he mean't to do such a thing or not didn't matter. After they passed overhead, he quickly darted out taking random turns so that anyone watching could not possibly know which direction he came from. Quickly, he was absorbed into the confused crowd as just another bystander. Like a drop of water in the wide ocean, he was impossible to find, and none of the bigger fish or sharks would take notice of him. Successfully having escaped from disaster, he realized that he had forgotten something important! The ripped clothing on his back! An intrepid observer might note that the skeleton at the gate had torn the back of his clothes and be able to trace his steps in the city. With a quick yank the shirt in question was quickly removed and balled up into his pocket.

"That should cover my tracks for now. I'd better be careful, nobody can know that it was I who caused such a ruckus, not even my sister or a nobody like me with no status will be done for."

At his run down house, whose whole expanse couldn't even compare to the lowliest of inn rooms, Lineir stashed away his ruined shirt and changed into a new one to await his sister's return from the bar. At exactly three hours after sunset, she arrived, exhausted and harried but with a beautiful smile that she always had.

Lineir was used to this late arrival, what with her status as an unmarried and uncultivated girl, she was unable to argue with any of the conditions at her workplace. To be frank, it was already quite generous that she got home before the moon reached its peak. As a serving girl at a bar, the owners of the inn didn't want her skin to be bad and her eyes to be like a raccoon's, and let her back early. Otherwise, it would be likely that Lineir wouldn't see her at all before he slept.

"Little brother Lineir, have you heard the news? Something exciting is happening in our Brackenrock City!" Lineir sighed inwardly as he heard his sister's exclamation. He already knew what the news was going to be about, and he was already feeling uncomfortable thinking about the ants nest he had kicked. With a suppressed shudder, he faced his one and only sister and smiled,

"Big sister Yiu, I have heard the news, but only rumors. I suspect that as a maid, you'd know more." His sister's pretty face, which was as attractive as some of the nobles smiled back at him.

"Little brother, let me tell you a story I heard repeated many times today. Some young man wandered deep into the Deadzone and actually pulled out a higher level undead! It had a whole horde of undead following it, though fortunately they were locked outside the city walls, but one of the undead actually got into the city! It was so powerful that three White Horizon Sect members were sent to suppress it when the runed arrows failed to bring it down!" At this moment, Lineir's face was developing into a distinctly red tone like an overripe peach. His sister mistook that for excitement though, "Amazing right?!" Lineir could do nothing but nod helplessly.

"What about this young man who led the undead here, is there anything about him?" His sister frowned slightly, annoyed that Lineir didn't appear to be as excited as she was,

"No, who cares about him, they say he almost got eaten alive, but nobody knows where he disappeared to, when it was over, he was nowhere to be seen." Lineir grew more and more queasy with every sentence, his guilty mind losing control of his stomach. His sister paused for a moment to take a breath, but then continued, "Do you know what's even crazier?" Not waiting for an answer she continued out in one breath, "The three White Horizon Sect members were actually killed by that higher undead at the gates! Afterwards, the entire sect went out and forcefully exterminated the enemy at the gate, even the elders came out! This is why I always told you to stay away from the Deadzone and old city, nothing good comes from that place. I wouldn't want to be the perpetrator of all this when he is found out. At the very least he will be hung, and most likely his whole clan exterminated as well!" With a chopping motion mimed at her neck, Yiu illustrated the point before panting and bringing out dinner, a few rolls of bread from the inn. Turning pale, Lineir pretended to chew a few bites before excusing himself and soundlessly concealing his retches outside.

"I'm so screwed, and to make matters worse, I may have dragged my one and only sister into this as well, what in the nine Hells do I do?!!!"