"If you can give us any advice on these things, Necromancer Numal, I'm sure we'd all be grateful,” Quelgrum shouted, as he saw the mage swing his staff in a wide arc to decapitate yet another creature.

"This is outside my training and experience, General,” Numal said and moaned. “If you can protect me and leave one of the creatures intact while I try to gain control of it, I might be able to persuade it to attack the others."

The ground shivered again. “Here they come again!” shouted Erik. “I've only got three magazines left. I'm going to try a few grenades-let's see how they like that!"

Quelgrum swung his firing rifle in a wide arc-the damned things are all around us!-and he heard the dull thump of grenades exploding amongst the hordes of undead assailants. Only those creatures immediately next to the explosions seemed affected by Erik's grenades; any human within several yards would have been torn apart by the flying metal shards, but the zombies continued to advance. Some limped, some had lost arms, but the ghastly attack did not slow.

Tordun leaped into the middle of the forward group of attackers, knocking many away with his hammer-like fists but only slowing the advance. Quelgrum heard the now-familiar groans and rumbles on all sides, and he knew panic for the first time since his extreme youth. He looked behind him to see Numal flailing with his staff like some mad reaper, and he knew the group could not last long in the midst of this awful killing ground.

The General aimed single shots at the heads of the advancing horde, trying to conserve his ammunition; occasionally, he was rewarded by the sight of an exploding skull and a falling foe, but, more often, a shambling monster just ignored the damage.

"Get to the road and regroup, people!” Quelgrum shouted. He saw Shakkar swing around, as a group of seven zombies began to rip the cart apart behind them. “Forget it, Shakkar!” he screamed, his voice a counterpoint to the frightened, brutalised horses’ whinnying, as they were torn apart by the monsters’ claws. “Let's get to the road.