Chapter 2 - Marsh (TBtG)

“Just another mile to go fellas!” hollered Nedd from atop his broom.

The Necromancer has decided to fly a few feet above the undead who were trekking through the cold marsh. Sarge grimaced as he pulled himself through the moist and slimy undergrowth. He resented the magikoopa for not only resurrecting him, but for his narcissistic attitude he flaunted at him and his comrades. He could sense that the entourage of undead that Nedd had brought to his resting place shared his sentiment as they groaned and grumbled behind him.

When leaving the graveyard, he had made the mistake of trying to make conversation with a bone goomba who seemed to constantly wear a scowl. However, his awkward attempts at small talk were only met with “Shut up” and “Chat with someone else freak”. Upon asking Nedd about the goomba’s hostility the magikoopa chuckled to himself.

“Don’t mind Manny. His bark is worse than his bite. Ah! I completely forgot!” Nedd gestured to the less than confident looking trio of undead, “These are your soldiers!”

Nedd quickly went down the line starting with the bone goomba. “You’ve already met Manny of course!” he then pointed at a gnarled looking bony beetle. “This is Kran, he might not look like much but he’s been dead long enough to garner the wisdom of three men!” Finally he motioned to a trembling dry bones. “Meet Patella! She’s quite meek, but I know potential when I see it.”

Unsure what to say, Sarge tried shaking Patella’s hand, as she was the only one in possession of them. “Call me Sarge…” he muttered. Patella interpreted the gesture differently than Sarge expected and proceeded to yelp and quickly fell into a dusty pile of yellow bones. “We have to get moving if we want to get there before nightfall.” said Nedd as he tossed Sarge a worn green sack. Sarge reluctantly began piling Patella’s bones into the bag.

Now with the bag slung over his bony back side, and feet aching from a long trek, Sarge saw Nedd land in front of an inconspicuous dirt hill. The undead piled around him as the Necromancer’s wand begins to glow. The vivid light emanating from the gem on the end of the wand danced upon the surface of the mound, entrancing the undead minions. A section of the dirt gave away, revealing an archway leading down a wooden staircase.

“Come on then soldiers! We have much to discuss, and I’m sure some of you are still full of questions.” Nedd said as he began his descent.

“I hate exposition…” said Manny quietly.