Death Mage:
Shortie by Lone Wolf
Starring: Ashley Williams

	The Zeox clan of technomages is very notorious amongst even the most 
skilled of Hunters. Their ranks of warriors are often known for getting back 
up and fighting, even after being riddled with holes. It is said that every 
one of their non-mages has some sort of device in them that the technomages 
can use to animate the dead corpses. However, we have yet to prove that, 
since the second time the body goes down, it turns to dust.

	Michael and I were called to a remote town in the desert sector of the 
Zeox home planet. There was a problem with a local band of brigands that 
needed attending to. Michael and I were quickly dispatched, seeing as how we 
knew how to deal with brigands, as well as the technomages that usually 
accompanied them.

	This town - Twilight - was nothing more than a shanty town. The homes 
were crude, animal hide tents - definitely a couple of centuries behind the 
time. They were nothing more than a hunter/gatherer society. How they 
managed to get all sorts of technological things to contact us was a mystery. 
But they managed to get to us, and greeted us with open arms once we arrived.

	The first one to speak with us was their old chief. The ancient
looking gecko had a lot to say. "We thank you for coming on such short 
notice," he said, a slight hiss to his voice. "But this came up so 
suddenly."
	"It's not a problem," I said. "That's how most of these missions end 
up being."
	Michael chuckled and looked over his shades. "Now, what's the 
problem?"
	"A band of raiders have been terrorizing our quiet little village." He 
pointed to the mountains. "They come from there."
	"Can't you defend yourselves against them?" Michael asked.
	"We can. We do. Our spears and knives tear through them like nothing 
else can. But once they've fallen, they arise again."
	I looked at Michael. "Zeox?"
	"Definately." He turned to the chief. "Tell me, does anyone else 
travel with the raiders?"
	"Why...yes. An old feline that wears long, gray robes. But I don't 
see-"
	I smiled. "Thank you, sir. That's all the information that we need." I 
looked to the mountains. "I think me and ol' Michael here can help you guys 
out. Right, Mike?"
	He chuckled. "Of course."
	"But you are unarmed. Please." He turned to his people and clapped his 
hands. Two very finely crafted spears were brought to us. The points 
glittered in the light. "Take these spears with you."
	"No," Michael said. "We shouldn't."
	"We insist." He clapped again. The spears were handed to us. "Please, 
take these for luck."
	I smiled. "Thank you sir. We will." I nodded to Michael.
	"Yeah. Thank you." He twirled the spear around - he was always the one 
to play with weapons. "These handle nice."
	I chuckled. "Let's go you, before you hurt yourself."

	The walk to the mountains was at least a half an hour. Couple that 
with the hot sun beating down on us means that we were tired by the time we 
got there. I leaned against a rock, trying to catch my breath. "Why does the 
sun have to be so hot?" I asked, fumbling through my coat for a canteen.
	"I don't know," Michael said, popping open his. "I guess it's just to 
annoy the piss out of us." He took a swig and sighed. "At least we got 
this."
	I smirked and took a sip of mine. "Remember how we met?"
	He laughed. "It was over a package of emergency fluids. I know." He 
sighed. "That was the happiest moment of my life, ya know?"
	"Why?"
	"Because I met you." I blushed. "See, I knew you felt the same way."
	"Yeah...I guess."
	Suddenly, a hole was blown into the ground to the right of us.
	"Shit, we got company." I drew my firearm and slid behind a rock for 
cover. Michael found his cover and dove behind it. We nodded at each other 
and looked at where the shot came from. A large horde of brigand troops were 
standing there, pistols raised and aimed. They fired again. We dodged the
blasts.
	"Ashley," Michael called. "#9" I nodded and loaded the appropriate 
shell into my firearm. I took a deep breath, aimed, and fired. The stream of 
energy hit the left flank of troops, sending them to the ground. Michael 
took his shot, taking out the left flank. That left only a handful of 
brigands, who promptly turned tail.
	"They know we're here," Michael said. "Let's go, find that mage, and 
get the hell outta here."
	"But of course!" With my firearm still drawn, I started to climb the 
mountain. We passed the bodies as quickly as we could. I stopped for only a 
second to look at them - a force of habit. But as I started to continue, I 
felt something grab my leg. I let out a scream, turned, and fired. One of 
the corpses, which had me by the leg, collapsed, turning to dust. "Uh...
Michael. I think it's not over." I leapt back a little, my gun still aimed.
	"What?" He turned and looked. Suddenly, every dead body rose to it's 
feet. There were no pupils to their eyes. "Oh fuckin' hell. Ashy, shoot them 
all!" I raised my firearm and started to fire. Each time one of the bodies 
was struck, it doubled over and turned to dust. It took us a good five 
minutes to decimate the force of undead.
	"We better find that mage and end him."
	"Yeah, but where could he be." 
	I pointed to a cave. "Could he be in there?"
	"Let's see." We moved in that direction.

	My guess was right. The cave went a little deeper into the mountain 
before opening up into a huge open forum. And there, standing on a platform 
surrounded by hundreds of brigand troops, was a technomage. The feline's 
tail swayed angrily, causing his long, gray robes to flap angrily. "How dare 
you defy the Zeox clan!" he shouted at us.
	I loaded a #6 into my firearm. "Well, that's what you get for picking 
on small villages," I shouted back.
	"Who are you to tell me what to do?"
	I raised my firearm defiantly. "Agent Ashy, Hunters. Surrender or you 
die."
	"You first." He pointed at us. The brigands started to move, almost 
automatically. I aimed and fired. The number six shell blasted from my gun, 
flew out a bit, and shattered, shards of energy flying at a multitude of 
targets. Bodies fell to the ground instantly. Michael added to the fun, 
firing off a #27. The wall of flames smashed into a group of approaching 
troops, incinerating them. With the numbers now signifigantly diminished, we 
took it on ourselves to removed the remainder of them with our own skills.
	"Your forces are destroyed," Michael said. "Surrender or die."
	The mage sneered at us. "You may have destroyed their souls, but not 
their bodies." He raised his hand in the air. Suddenly, every body that 
wasn't already dust or ash rose. Again, every eye they had amongst them was 
ice white. "Attack!" The bodies started to move at us.
	"Ah hell." I loaded another #6 into my firearm and fired. The bodies, 
however, absorbed the blasts. "Shit! They aren't affected."
	"Let me try." He loaded a #23 and fired. The stream of flame 
incinerated a group of corpses, but it wasn't enough. "There are too many!"
	"The tech-mage. Nail the mage!" I aimed and fired.

	If you haven't learned yet, all technomages have some sort of force 
field around them at absorbs firearm shots.

	"Damn it!" Michael gave it a try. "It's no use! He's not going to 
die." The bodies were getting closer, forcing us to inch backwards, towards 
the exit. Unfortunately for me, I tripped on my spear and landed on my back. 
"Wait a moment." I picked up the spear. "Michael!" I tossed it to him. 
"Throw it at the mage!"
	He caught it and smiled. "Got it!" He reared back and let it fly.
	"No!" The mage tried to move back to avoid it, but was far too slow. 
The spear went straight through his chest. He grabbed it and howled in pain. 
His robes, his flesh, and his fur started to melt off his form, leaving 
nothing but bones and machine parts. The skeleton stood there for a second 
before crumbling into a pile. The corpses mimiced this, grabbing their 
chests before turning into dust and collapsing into piles. We waited a few 
minutes to see if there were any more surprises. After seeing that this was 
over, I went over and retrieved the spear.
	"Who knew," I called to Michael. "Something so simple was able to do 
what our advanced weapons could not."
	He shook his head. "And it was you who insisted on taking them. Smart 
move, Ashy."
	I put the spear onto my back and picked up the mage's skull. "I say we 
bring this back as a sign of our deed. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to get 
some good old fashioned cooking out of this!"
	He laughed. "C'mon you! Let's go back." I quickly raced to catch up 
with him as he darted out of the cavern.

End
Ashley Williams and Michael D'Ketra are © Lone Wolf and <([ Lone Wolf 
Studios ])>
See you next time.
	-Ashley Williams