Zombius Native Americanus.

Episode 1 of the Valley of Spirits

In our heroes' last adventure, they defeated a mysterious enemy known as the Wizard and recovered documents that pointed the way to kidnapped Benjamin Franklin. They returned to Continental headquarters and handed the documents over to Ben Tallmadge's agents, who set to work deciphering the information.

The documents were a secret map to Franklin's location, in a hidden valley deep in the Alleghenies. Our heroes geared up for a long trek (Rufus added a long rifle to his equipment) and set out to rescue Franklin. They began marching into the wilderness. Occasionally, they caught glimpses of a creature in the woods, but could not discern what is was. Rufus dismissed it as a bear.

After several days of travel, they noticed that there was no sign of wildlife. Game was non-existent and no birds were singing. Disturbed by the unnatural feeling, the party was particularly vigilant. That night, while Snake was on guard, she heard shuffling in the woods. Quietly, she sneaked into the trees and came up behind it. She could see a figure of a native, armed with a tomahawk. Coming up behind him, she put her knife to his throat. He turned, swinging his arm at arm. Snake jumped back and called a warning to her comrades.

Rufus and Dr. McCoy stirred but two more natives leaped into their camp. McCoy rolled away just in time, but a native tomahawk sliced into Rufus's shoulder. He countered, and smashed the native in the face. McCoy unsheathed his sword, and with a deft slice, he decapitated it. Then Rufus dispatched his opponent. Meanwhile, Snake was caught in a brutal struggle. The enemy grasped her by throat and was squeezing the life out of her. Rufus grabbed his rifle, aimed, and fire. His shot was true, and the native fell.

After the battle, McCoy inspected the enemy. Startled, he turned to his comrades.

"They were dead." he announced.

"Of course," Rufus said, "we killed them."

"No, you don't understand," McCoy stated. "They were dead when they attacked us."

Rufus's eyes widened, "Zombie Indians?"

"Indeed. Zombius Native Americanus."

Alarmed by the attack, the party immediately broke camp. They traveled in the dark for a few hours, rested, and then pressed on. That night, they made camp and set guards again, Once more, during Snake's shift, she heard a faint rustling in the woods. Quietly, she alerted her comrades. A stealthily as possible, they readied there weapons. But then, the doctor heard something on the wind. A voice. But zombies don't talk.

"Wait," the doctor whispered. "I don't think they are zombies. Let me talk to them."

McCoy called out a greeting. One of the group surrounding them called back. He stepped into their camp and offered a pow-wow. The party realized that they were friendly natives. They were hunting the unnatural, undead creatures that were haunting their hunting grounds. Our heroes learned that the source of these undead was a hidden valley that the natives called the Valley of the Spirits. Their description matched the details that the heroes gleaned from the map.

"Friends," McCoy stated, "It looks like we are headed for the Valley of the Spirits."

Stay tuned for episode 2.