Prelude 

The town was on fire, the smoke-choked the woman in the cage. It creaked under her weight as the hot embers under her feet slowly brunt her alive. The screams of the dying as meaty corpses began to consume the living and skeletons being supported by an unwilling host scattered and killed the townsfolk. 

Anna sat in the metal cage dangling over a lit fire waiting for her end, but the cage cracked open within a few minutes. A large nightmare of a man in black armor covered in spikes, blood, and as dark in an unlit dungeon stares at Anna. She hesitates with wide eyes, tearing from the smoke and barely able to hold a breath. The huge man pried her cage open and grabbed her, carrying her off into the forest near the town. The only thing Anna remembers is the cries of pain and death slowly fade into the night to be replaced with the sounds of nature. 

Is this all real?

What happened?

Where am I?

Anna woke up next to a campfire, she is sleeping in a covered sleeping bag and she looks around. It's still night but only enough firelight to see a few dozen feet in front of her. A wagon and a horse pitched near a tree nearby. She gives a sigh of relief but horror shows on her face as she realizes she's not dreaming. The dark man sits on a log looking into the fire, he moves his head to see her.

"You awake"? The Dark Knight says.

Anna is speechless. She struggles to calm down. This towering figure stands over six feet with massive armor plates, and a helm made out a mad wizard's nightmares. 

"You're safe now, just sleep. No one will hurt you tonight" He says. 

This is how I met Master V, the Necromancer Cleric. 

Chapter One: Fallsberry

The town is a crossroads town, filled with merchants, carts on paved stone, high walls, towering gates, and hundreds of guards. The Town of Fallsberry is near the dwarven mountains to the east and the Empire of Edress on the right. This region in summer is full of drunken soldiers, shouts of adventures, and youthful men and women enjoying the local festivities. Nearly twenty thousand people live here and a garrison of soldiers is close by. There has been activity of soldiers from a rival nation called Esthera doing small raids and burning local villages. The kings of Edress and Esthera have always been rivals and have always been preparing for war. I am the junior cleric of Fallsberry, my name is Maerick Evernight. This is my story. 

A large man in an apron standing outside of his tavern waves Maerick.

"Cleric Maerick, it's good to see you, boy". The man said.

"Good to see you, Mr. Jenkins". Maerick said.

Mr. Jenkins holds his hands to his side and walks Maerick into his Tavern. 

The Tavern is roughed up, with broken chairs, broken stools, and plenty of scuffed stone flooring.

"Had an interesting night"? Maerick said.

Mr. Jenkins laughed and slapped the young cleric on the shoulder.

"Well, boy. Taverns are for adventures are they not. The Adventuring Guild will cover the cost, but I have a few lads injured and I was hoping you could help"? Mr. Jenkins asked.

Maerick sighed. "There seem to be more now with the war escalating." 

"Yeah, but let's hope for a peaceful conclusion." Mr. Jenkins said. 

Mr. Jenkins walked Maerick into the back room where three men lay down injured, some from bludgeoned objects and a few sharp stab wounds. Maerick walked over to the most injured man and pressed his hand on the injured man's ribs. A bright light ignited from Maerick's hand and covered the injured man in a glow, and then instantly the wound healed.

"I didn't think there was a free cleric around." The uninjured man said. 

The church charges too much in my opinion, I would rather do this for free, but I understand everyone needs coin nowadays." Maerick said. 

He continued and healed the two other injured.

Mr. Jenkins smacked one of the injured men. "You going to thank the young lad or am I going to have to charge you for a month"? Mr. Jenkins said.

The three uninjured men took a moment of shock and purposely thanked Maerick. They grabbed their things and left.

"I can't believe how much the church charges, it's either you die by monsters or you die in the streets from debt". Mr. Jenkins said.

"I don't agree with the charge, that's why I do it for free. Life is too important to be discharged too easily. We all should do our best to help others." Maerick said.

"Sometimes you remind me of the humanity that we lost. Thanks, kid, would you like some breakfast on the house"? Mr. Jenkins asked.

"No, I'm sorry, but I have to report to the missionary today, I'm going into my next advanced class," Maerick said.

Mr. Jenkins nodded. "Well, when you become a paladin or grand cleric come by and visit, tell me all about your adventures". Mr, Jenkins said.

"Thanks, Mr.Jenkins, have a wonderful day". Maerick said.

Mr. Jenkins whispered. "You too kid, you too".