The sun glared down, baking the stone ground until the rock seemed ready to split from the heat. Yet, paradoxically, the air was thick with a cloying, uncomfortable moisture that made sweat stick to skin rather than cool it.
Lucas shifted under the weight of his new gear. The stiff leather armor was already soaked in sweat, and the steel shaft of the cheap spear burned his palm. His bow was slung over his shoulder, the wood thumping rhythmically against his spine with every step.
“Lucas, Felix, stay close to Evelyn at all times!” Qalda ordered. She cracked her knuckles and stepped closer to the cave entrance.
A shimmering wall of azure energy rippled across the entrance of the cavern, looking like a vertical pool of translucent water suspended in the air.
“Gio, follow behind me, but keep an eye on Evelyn and those two,” she commanded the Sanguine.
Gio, looking pale and irritated by the harsh sunlight, simply nodded without a word.
“Master Roland,” Evelyn interjected before Qalda could touch the barrier. “I have always wondered how Nullcraft works. Would you demonstrate while I can still observe clearly?”
The older man smiled sheepishly.
“Of course, dear.”
He reached into his robes and withdrew a book with a deep, violet leather cover. He placed his right hand flat against the cover while holding it in his left. Violet light seeped from between his fingers and crawled up his arm.
The light quickly expanded, covering the man’s entire body before merging into complex, strange symbols. They glowed brightly for a second, then sank beneath his clothes, disappearing from sight.
“I am ready when you are,” he said, tucking the book away.
Lucas clutched the seal in his right hand. He couldn't wear it; the ring was sized for a Drukyr’s thick fingers, making it loose enough to slide right off even his thumb.
Roland stepped forward first. He passed through the liquid-like energy as if it were an illusion, the barrier not even rippling around him. Qalda and Gio followed, the azure light flaring briefly as they passed.
Lucas and Felix went last. As he stepped through the membrane, Lucas felt a strange sensation - a static zap that washed over his skin, neither painful nor pleasant.
Lucas breathed in a sigh of relief as he stepped through the barrier, only to immediately choke on a cough. The moment his nose passed the magical veil, a thick, greasy stench of rot, filth, and ancient grime invaded his lungs, making him gag violently.
“What is this smell?” Felix complained, clutching his hand over his mouth and nose, voice muffled. “It smells like a Varnok’s lair….”
“I would advise silence. I suspect our host is hardly the welcoming sort,” Gio whispered. His scarlet eyes were already dilated, fixed on the darkness where the tunnel narrowed.
The group advanced slowly. Evelyn and Roland conjured small silver orbs that hovered silently above them, casting a cold, white light that pushed back the shadows. They paused every dozen steps, allowing the mages to scan the path ahead. They were wary not only of the creature they might encounter but of traps left behind by the Necromancer.
Lucas walked in the rear, following Felix. The cleric held a lantern similar to the one the priest had used in Richfield, though Felix’s lacked the floating fire orbs.
The walls were weeping. Moisture seeped from the rough stone, reflecting the silver light of the orbs and creating dancing, ghostly shadows. The wet floor turned every carefully placed step into a squelching splash that echoed too loudly in the confined space.
Lucas, finding a brief moment when the others were focused on the path ahead, activated Coward’s Eye.
[
Name: Roland of Frozfield
Race: Human
Rank: Platinum
Class: Nullcraft / Ice Mage
Level: ????
]
[
Name: Felix
Race: Half-Human / ***
Rank: Silver
Class: Necromancer / Healer
Level: ????
]
Before the shock could fully hit after realizing Felix was Half-Human, he saw Qalda raise a fist, signaling everyone to halt.
A few steps ahead, the tunnel took a sharp turn to the left. The rock at the bend was bathed in an eerie, pulsating green glow.
“Anything?” Qalda whispered, barely voicing the word.
She looked to Gio, Evelyn, and Roland. None of them responded.
In the end, the group advanced, inching forward one step at a time.
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They reached the corner safely, and the tunnel abruptly opened into a massive, cavernous chamber.
Unlike the weeping tunnel, this circular room was bone-dry. A massive iron chandelier hung from the high ceiling, illuminating the dark stone. Of its dozens of holders, only three held crystals, casting a dim green light.
“Follow me. Be careful,” Qalda ordered, stepping into the open space.
Gio followed, his eyes instantly locking onto a towering stone statue on the opposite side of the room. It was draped in a stone cloak, missing both its head and hands.
He took a sniff and wrinkled his nose in disgust.
The air here was far thicker with filth. The space was filled with steel tables that still held the remnants of rotting flesh and unrecognizable organs. In the center of the room stood a circular metal frame, from which a gutted, flayed corpse hung by steel hooks.
“Bahenna have mercy on us! What were they doing here?” Felix gasped, the lantern shaking in his grip.
Lucas was barely able to keep his breakfast down. His stomach churned violently, and he had to constantly swallow the saliva flooding his mouth to force the bile back.
“There is no exit. This is the room,” Roland said, his voice devoid of emotion. He pulled a cyan orb from beneath his cloak, the surface steaming faintly.
“Maybe there is a secret passage, or a mechanism we can activate?” Lucas suggested, still groggy, as he took a step back.
Suddenly, he stumbled, planting his spear to keep his balance.
An excruciating pain seized him - identical to what he had felt under the dragon’s gaze. His heart hammered against his ribs, threatening to burst from his chest. He struggled for air, gasping loudly and inhaling the filthy odor as if it were the sweetest perfume.
“There is something here…” he rasped, clutching his tunic over his heart.
The group snapped toward him. They didn't question him; the sheer terror on his face was answer enough. Their eyes scanned the room, and the mages flared their mana.
Nothing. The room seemed empty.
Until Gio lowered his stance, his daggers appearing in his hands.
“Above the statue.”
“Oh.” An amused snort echoed from the shadows, the voice high-pitched. “What gave me away? Ah, never mind. I didn’t expect you’d come.”
The Unbowed instinctively glanced at Roland, but the old mage’s face remained expressionless, giving nothing away.
Lucas finally managed to straighten his spine as the crushing pressure on his chest subsided, allowing him to suck in a desperate breath.
The cloaked figure floated down from the headless shoulders of the statue, descending soundlessly to land right in front of Gio.
“Tell me, Vampire, would you become my servant? I happen to need a…”
The man’s voice cut off as Gio flashed beside him. The Sanguine moved faster than blinking, swinging his daggers in a blur that left a thin red line across the figure’s head.
“I am Sanguine!” Gio hissed, his eyes burning scarlet.
A sigh came from behind him.
“Let me give you a piece of advice. Embrace who you are, and you might manage to actually injure me,” the cloaked man said, a green sheen pulsing from beneath his hood. “But now, even if you change your mind, I won’t take you as my subordinate!”
He gently flicked his wrist.
The entire cavern groaned.
It wasn't just a vibration; it was a deep rumble that vibrated through the place. The stone floor beneath them began to shift, grinding loudly. A massive square section of the floor retracted, and from the abyss below, a stone platform began to rise.
Dust billowed out from the cracks. The heavy thud of stone locking into place echoed like a war drum as two hulking statues were fully revealed. Their forms weren’t refined - a large circular stone in the center with four limbs and a head.
“Kill them,” the cloaked figure commanded.
“Lucas, Felix, to Evelyn. NOW!” Qalda roared.
She charged toward the closest statue, a golden aura exploding outward from her body.
Lucas darted toward Evelyn just as he activated Coward’s Eye.
[
Name: ????
Race: Human / ????
Rank: Platinum
Class: ????
Level: ????
]
[
Name: Stone Golem
Rank: Silver
Resistances: Fire, Piercing damage, Slashing Damage, Mana
Weaknesses: Ice, Blunt damage, Killing the Puppeteer
]
[
Name: Stone Golem
Rank: Silver
Resistances: Fire, Piercing damage, Slashing Damage, Mana
Weaknesses: Ice, Blunt damage, Killing the Puppeteer
]
The air temperature dropped. Two massive icicles, steaming and crackling, formed above Roland before hissing through the air toward the statue Qalda was charging at.
Two green dots flickered to life where the statue's eyes should have been. It raised a massive stone fist to block the attack, but the difference in strength was too big.
Roland's icicles slammed into its chest, shattering the thick stone armor and exposing the glowing core. Qalda followed up a split-second later, her fist coated in heavy golden mana. She punched through the debris and crushed the green gemstone into dust.
She instantly pivoted toward the second golem, which was already charging straight for the backline - aiming for Felix.
But before it could reach the healer, a jagged cliff of ice shot upward from the ground. It sliced through the golem’s torso, cutting it cleanly in half before it crumbled into a pile of inert rocks.
“We should attack the mage together,” Roland said calmly, the sheen of the cyan orb in his hand intensifying.
“Oh, you thought those two were my only puppets?” the cloaked figure chuckled. He didn't even take a step back, despite Qalda and Gio charging him from opposite sides.
The cavern trembled again.
Five golems dropped from the darkness above, landing heavily.
Then five more dropped behind them.
Then, the entire wall near the large headless statue collapsed. Dust and debris flooded the room, revealing row after row of stone golems standing in the dark, their eyes flickering to life with a green glow. Dozens of them.
“The fun part has only just begun,” the cloaked figure snorted.
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