Then I saw Pal standing chest deep in the water part almost in the centre of the pond, holding the jar of holy water.

  Wait. I was still standing! I hadn’t fallen over! My leg.. I whipped around looking. Alizea was dragging Rose out of the pond. Rose was covered in pond scum and was completely soaked.

  She must have dove under the water at the last second! I sagged in relief.

  {Pallidaddy} - Let’s get going. Three of the groups are already back.

  Dripping and uncomfortable, we made our way down to the main floor.

  We had holy water. The first group had had to find a holy relic that they needed to touch to the ghosts, the second to return had a fine salt like powder that worked a bit like our water and the last group had had to figure out a holy gesture and get the ghosts to look at them while they did it.

  The group of us standing there had been greatly diminished; there had been a lot of deaths. Somber yet determined we gathered before the central chapel.

  Now that we had fought all the other ghosts on the other floors, the diagram on the back wall made more sense. The symbols were water; the dots were the powder; the hand must be the gesture; and the relic did kind of look like an X.

  {MageAgainsttheMachine} - Anything could happen when we combine these. It could be over, or we could get a big bad.

  The relic was placed in the basin. Pal emptied the jar of our holy water on it. Aubie sprinkled some powder over it with a flourish. MageAgainst made the gesture. The item melted, and the concoction turned black and then drained with a sucking sound like an unclogged sink. Where it went, I couldn’t see; there was no visible drain. When the last of it swirled away, the ground began to shake and a thick cloud of smoke rose from the basin in a steady stream.

  The ground shook harder, and the building and stones in the area rattled. A couple of people lost their footing.

  Then the ghost emerged.

  It was big. Easily three meters tall, its form constantly shifted between a humanlike, but very large ghost and something far more terrible. Unlike the smaller ghosts with their white translucent forms, this one was white and wispy at the edges; at the core, it darkened to almost pure black. Below the creature were writhing tendrils of darkness that lashed out like whips.

  Its face, if you could call it that, was a nightmare. It was just a mouth that went past the midline on the sides. There were no eyes that I could make out.

  The thing opened its mouth and leaned forward in what looked like a scream, though I couldn’t hear it. The force of its rage hit me like a physical blow, pushing everyone back several steps.

  {Barry} - Spread out! Don’t cluster!

  We scattered. I could see people shooting arrows and casting spells. Everything passed through the massive ghost with only a ripple effect.

  {Copperbeard} - The water isn’t working! It’s too big, too powerful!

  A tendril of darkness lashed out and caught Toast, wrapping around him and lifting him into the air. He was dead almost instantly.

  {Azilea} - TOAST!

  The thing flung his body at us.

  {System Error} - We need to get the ghost into that smoke, or get the smoke to the ghost!

  {Vyper} - Oh, is that all? And how exactly do we move a massive ghost or a column of smoke?

  The ghost answered by slamming multiple tendrils into the ground, creating shockwaves that made us fight to say on our feet. I lurched sideways, falling on my dog. Dekka yelped, and I felt it through her body. I used her to steady myself.

  {Copperbeard} - We need a plan!

  {Barry} - Any of you mages - can you manipulate that smoke? Move it with wind or something?

  {Vampress} - I’ve got an inferno spell. It is fire, but it also creates a wind.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  {MageAgainsttheMachine} - Is that it?

  {Vampress} - Not many of us left.

  {Barry} - At least we have you. We just have to figure out how to use you.

  The ghost seemed to understand we were hatching a plan and wasn’t cooperating. It drifted away from the mausoleum, its massive form undulating as tendrils lashed out in all directions.

  Vyper ran in close, his large axe glowing with some enchantment, or perhaps Pal had put on it, and took a massive swing at one of the tentacles. The weapon passed through, slicing the appendage off. It turned to shreds of shadow and blew away. The ghost recoiled slightly, turning toward him. He ran, leading it away.

  {Barry} - No! Toward the building! Lead it TOWARD the building!

  The ghost was too fast. A tendril almost caught Vyper, but like his namesake he was faster. Probably had good stats in speed.

  {Pallidaddy} - I have an idea. Can I get a mana potion, Aubie?

  The alchemist tossed him one.

  {Barry} - What’s your idea?

  {Pallidaddy} - I can use my shield to divert the smoke away from the wall and shelter Vampress in front of me. Then, when the ghost gets close, she can use inferno from under the shield, and the smoke should get drawn along. That should work, right, babe?

  {Vampress} - Yes, that should! As long as you are at my back, Pal, the spell won’t hurt you. And the air always rushes along with the fire, so the smoke should get pulled along.

  {Barry} - Sounds like the best plan we have. Let’s do it. Healers prioritize Pal and Vampress. They are the only ones who can do this.

  As soon as they got to the column of smoke the and Pal started angling it over the basin to divert the smoke, the ghost turned all its attention to the pair.

  {MageAgainsttheMachine} - Everyone distract that ghost!

  The ghost’s tendrils were reaching around the shield, trying to reach the two underneath. Pal gritted his teeth, pouring everything he had into keeping the shield over him and his wife.

  I ran forward and swung my club at the ghost. Vyper was at my side, though his axe was no longer glowing. The paladin dropped to one knee, gasping. Risking getting hit with a tentacle, I stepped in and hit the ghost on its body. The mouth fast turned to me with a terrible rictus of a smile. If the rage wasn’t running through my veins, I think I would have wet myself.

  {System Error} - Guys, it’s solid. The body. I hit it.

  {Ayerelia} - It didn’t seem impressed.

  {Barry} - Still, that is good information to know.

  The ghost had moved back. It never left the courtyard of the central building. I wondered if it was trapped in its confines. But the further back it was, the harder it would be for Vampress to hit it with her spell and smoke. It moved fast and could likely dodge.

  The column of smoke bent and flowed across the underside of Pal’s massive shield. Vampress was crouched under it waiting.

  {Vampress} - I need it closer.

  {Barry} - You heard her! Let’s see if we can get it to chase us.

  With that, he dashed in front of the monster, taunting it with his proximity. The ghost whirled to follow him but then seemed to sense the danger. It hung back.

  We were at a stalemate.

  {Rositilda} - Guys, I have an idea, but I am not sure you are going to like it...

  She was right. It was creepy, and I didn’t like it. But it made logical sense. Toast’s corpse lurched across the stones, making its way to the ghost. And Rose’s hands glowed green, and her face was set in a look of deep concentration.

  The ghost looked away from the smoke. And turned its terrible face to the dead body walking unsteadily towards it. The thing’s head tilted to one side as if curious as to what the corpse’s intention was.

  Rose marched Toast’s body right up to the ghost before it reacted. It leaned down and bit Toast. The corpse’s legs kept moving as if it were still trying to walk as the ghost lifted him off the ground and shook him like Dekka shakes rodents. Confused, the ghost spat him out.

  The corpse kept advancing. Remembering how it had thrown the body at us, we needed to distract it. Tapping Vyper on the shoulder, I ran in again. Waving my club and seeing the glint of a sharp axe beside me, we attacked the tentacles on the opposite side of where Toast was.

  The creature abandoned its attack on the corpse and turned to us. We kept hitting it. Not doing any damage, but that wasn’t the point.

  Toast got behind the ghost and began pushing. Seems necromancers can add strength to their minions, and Toast had been a powerful player before becoming undead. We backed up and tried to keep the thing’s attention on us.

  {Barry} - Down now!!

  Vyper and I dropped prone instantly.

  Above us, a wall of flame scorched our backsides, and wind whipped at our clothes and hair. Squinting, I tried to see what was happening. There was a confusion of fire and smoke and tentacles thrashing.

  Then the fire stopped. The tentacles started shrinking. The ghost’s mouth was open in a silent wail. Its tentacles weren’t shrinking; they were inverting. That was disgusting. Its whole body writhed and shook. Parts of it denting in like it was being hit with an enormous invisible baseball bat. It started folding in on itself, and a wind picked up, all the air being sucked toward the ghost as it was being banished.

  We stood up. I could see a few people cheering. I deep feeling of relief spread over me. One more dungeon room done. The ghost was now the size of a normal person, still denting and folding, hovering a couple of meters over the stones. Vyper turned his back on it, and it lunged. Toast’s body fell on its face now that the monster it was pushing wasn’t there.

  Without thinking, I pushed Vyper aside, putting myself where he had been standing. He stumbled and rolled. He was clear. I turned to see the horrifying thing coming at me. Its face still somehow full of malice as it flew, still shrinking.

  But it wasn’t aimed at me.

  My head followed its trajectory as it flew over my head and straight towards the couple that had caused its doom. It plunged right into Pal’s chest as he was smiling down at his wife.

  His smiled turned into a scream of pure terror. Not that I could hear it, but I could feel it. The way his eyes bulged, the way his face turned red. The veins popping up all over it’s face.

  Then he exploded. Pal exploded into wet, meaty chunks. Mostly over his wife. Who then started screaming hysterically just as the sound started to return.

  50XP!