Morgan went to see the source of the roar. It was filled with such rage that he could feel it infusing into him. The undead on the Stoker roiled in a frenzy, pushing and clawing at each other to climb the chains. Their clumsy bodies made heavy thumping splashes as they hit the water below. Few made it along the chains to the other ships. Morgan had to ignore them.

  Standing on the landing of the mansion was a woman dressed in a long red and black velvet coat. She held a matching hat with black plumage. In her other hand was a gleaming rapier. She roared again. Black, noxious clouds rolled out of her mouth and across the deck. Monsters touched by the cloud redoubled their efforts to get to the chains. With a last long look over the deck, the woman slammed the hat on her head and went into the mansion. The door shut with a deck-shaking thump.

  Sophia said.

  Sophia began. Morgan plummeted to the deck of the Stoker, summoning Midnight Razor as he did.

  As soon as he struck the first zombie, he felt a thrum in his body, like a part of himself he had been missing was back and he was whole again. He cast Improved Mage Armor, encasing himself in a tangible, invisible barrier. Unlike in VISTA, he could feel the drain on his vitality in his soul. It wasn’t as simple as using his health. It took something from him. He was already repairing the damage, but it was painful. Not as painful as a rod through his chest, but unpleasant.

  The undead were chaff before his Whirlwind. Their shattered pieces flew in all directions. He used Storm Bolt and decimated a large swath of the creatures. An elite zombie took a bolt of lightning and kept coming, but his sword sliced through it without resistance. He worked his way to the house, scything through the horde as it rushed at him, until he stepped onto the stone steps of the porch.

  ::Caution: You are entering a Dungeon- Revenge::

  The porch was wide and solidly built of heavy stone that seamlessly melded with the steel decking. The thick air smelled of rot and a faint pear perfume. As he mounted the stairs, the surrounding undead became disinterested. The trail he had carved through their numbers was quickly filled in by the rambling horde, sniffing the air. There were just so many of them.

  He turned to the door. It was dense wood with iron bands set into a stone frame. He pushed it and it opened easily and silently. Beyond, an elegant hallway similar to the Academy’s stretched out before him. Longer than was possible for the exterior of the house. The pear smell was much more concentrated here.

  As he walked on the plush carpet, a haunting melody drifted through the house. A piano being played in the distance drew him deeper. Its light, mournful melody was just audible. As he walked down the hallway, he saw elaborate paintings on the walls. A young couple, she in a long white dress, smiling into each other’s eyes. The same couple, older and more distinguished, still happy. The third painting was scratched and smeared with soot. In the corner, Morgan could see a gravestone.

  Then there were dozens of paintings, some taller than he was. A fleet of black ships with crimson flags. The fleet was repeated in every painting, with different weather, different shores, some with fiery battles, other men being killed on the decks. He came to the end of the hall, standing before a door with light coming through the threshold. Beside the door was a giant painting of the revenant in her red coat and hat.

  Opening the door revealed a large ornate, circular ballroom with a glass ceiling. Outside Morgan could see wispy clouds and tower tree branches.

  He said to Sophia.

  Morgan just shook his head as he entered the room. On the far side of the room sat a marble coffin and a throne on a raised platform. The revenant was lounging on the chair, draped across its hard frame, her plumed hat perched on its corner. In a little nook of the otherwise round room was an organ, whose pipes ran along the walls. The dirge was being played by an ethereal figure bent over the keys. The music continued, and Morgan could hear the revenant humming sadly along. Pear perfume filled his nostrils.

  Nothing changed for long seconds as Morgan observed the room. When he was three steps in, the door behind him slammed shut. The music remained haunting and mournful, but there was a noticeable increase in tempo and intensity.

  “Welcome,” a weary female voice said. “Have you come to try to kill my love again?” The revenant rose from her throne, staring at Morgan. “Silence!” she shouted. “I don’t need your pathetic excuses.” Her face distorted into a hideous snarl. “I will purge the world of all your kind.” She stood now, eight feet tall, and drew her rapier in a smooth, graceful motion. The weapon was sleek and predatory, with an ornate swept hilt.

  Morgan summoned Midnight Edge. Its thick blade was a stark contrast to the thin edge of the rapier. The revenant stepped off the dais. A streaking red afterimage lunged forward. Fortuitous Block is the only thing that saved Morgan from being skewered. His sword moved of its own accord and parried the blow. His riposte was expertly diverted, and her sword point pierced his mage armor with a hissing pop, and then his right shoulder just outside his chest piece.

  The revenant disengaged, melting backward in a hazy mist. He could feel a chill in his shoulder, and his warm blood flowed down his arm and over his hand. The chill dissipated, and the wound healed as the revenant cocked her head. Behind her there was a grating noise, and the heavy lid of the coffin slid to the side. “My love,” she breathed throatily.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  A bloated, discolored hand grasped the edge of the coffin. It had thick, long, black nails that came to sharp points. The stench of decay permeated the ballroom. The creature in the coffin pulled itself up awkwardly into a sitting position. In an instant, the revenant was back next to the coffin. Holding the bulbous hand in her own. The zombie had a dried and desiccated head that had been sewn onto the body in ragged, uneven stitches. Stitches of thick black thread also sealed its mouth. It reached up in jerky, stuttering movements to caress her cheek. It pointed at Morgan with its other hand.

  “Yes, my love,” she said tenderly. “I will dispose of the interloper who disturbs your slumber. Then we shall rest again.”

  She fixed a malevolent gaze on Morgan. She stood slowly, grasping desperately at the zombie’s hand as she did. Her rapier lay at her feet. She kicked the hilt and deftly caught the weapon as it rose in front of her. She finished the grab with a swish of the weapon into salute, then took a classic guard stance. The point of the slender weapon unerringly pointed at Morgan’s heart. The organ was now playing a rapid dramatic staccato.

  Morgan dashed to the side, dodging her attack. Then cast Elemental Overload, preparing to hit her with everything he had, but she once again vanished into a haze and moved away. She reset her position and prepared to lunge again. Morgan rushed toward her, each step toward his enemy making him move faster and faster, the new Bounding property of Midnight Edge. Then he lunged, using Kinetic Burst to push as hard as he could, not at the revenant, but at the zombie.

  His sword slammed into the zombie as it was haltingly attempting to lift itself from the coffin. Triggering Storm Bolt caused chain lightning to arc from the zombie to the revenant. Leaving scorch marks on both their garments. She screamed, the sound of frustration, not pain. The zombie slumped, then stirred. Morgan struck again, using his gravity ring to weigh the sword down as he struck. Midnight Edge sliced cleavingly through the zombie and halfway into the heavy marble coffin.

  He extracted his weapon, spinning and expecting an attack. Instead, the revenant was staring in horror at the collapsing and withering zombie. Its two halves fell and began leaking black blood that was greedily absorbed by Morgan’s sword. Drops of the thick fluid created droplets that ‘fell’ upward to the sword.

  The revenant screamed a crescendo of unadulterated rage.

  Sophia informed Morgan.

  A hurricane of power battered Morgan. He fought to keep his footing as the gale drove him backward into the stone wall. Her face and clothing, once disturbing but pleasant and elegant, were now grotesque and twisted rags. The once beautiful woman was now a gnarled frame, draped in tatters, with a rusted and misshapen axe. Her eyes now glowed like embers in her sunken sockets. Spittle and phlegm flew from her mouth as she cursed him. Her disfigured lips made the words unintelligible, but her meaning was unmistakable.

  Morgan cast Cosmic Bolt with his off-hand. The beam of pure sunlight blinded him, leaving swimming spots in his vision. The beam struck the revenant for a fraction of a second before she melted into mist and reformed unharmed. She snarled and hefted the wicked-looking axe onto her hunched shoulder. Her movements were not graceful. They were brutal and primal, but no less quick. Her staggering charge brought her in close before she brought the axe down. Morgan stepped to the side, easily avoiding the telegraphed overhead chop. He was struck in the side by her twisted claw and thrown across the room.

  The wound in his side bled an icy blue, fiery blood. He could feel its heat running down his leg. It slowed him slightly. The slowing was lethargic, then a crazy idea struck him. He dismissed Midnight Edge.

  Sophia asked.

  This time when the revenant charged, Morgan dodged to the side, and then immediately behind her with Kinetic Burst. He reached out, grasping desperately at her elbow as she whirled to face him. He activated the Ring of Static Heart. The misty form of the revenant faltered and slowed, condensing. He tightened his grip and put all his focus into the strength of the ring. Her arm felt thin and sickly as she slumped in his grasp. He summoned Midnight Edge with a grunt of effort.

  “I’m sorry.” He said, as he cut off her head. The body crumpled and then dissolved into mist that drifted across the floor to the husk of the zombie. The organ fell silent.

  “My love,” echoed softly through the chamber.

  Left on the floor of the ballroom was the fancy rapier, a ring, and two dungeon cubes. The silence hung heavy on Morgan’s shoulders.

  ::Dungeon Loot Chest - 2x Legendary::

  ::Sweet Sorrow - Legendary - Weight: 3lbs. Properties: DEX +3, Blur, Increased Damage in Duels::

  ::Ring of Binding - Mythic - Weight: - lbs. Properties: Soul binding::

  ::Absorption complete. You gained Invader Core Champion (x2).

  ::Congratulations! You are the first person in this world to clear a named Dungeon - Revenge. Title Granted::

  ::Title Granted - Till Death Do Us Part - You can choose to share a health pool with another Person. This effect cannot be reversed::

  A chime sounded, and then a polite female voice said, “The dungeon will begin to self-destruct in five minutes. Please make your way calmly and quietly to the nearest exit.”

  The loot automatically entered his storage as he made his way from the ballroom. He trudged down the hall, looking at each picture as he did. The last two paintings of the couple were missing. He exited the solemn house and looked out over a sea of milling zombies. Without the black, noxious cloud, they were slow and uninterested.

  Flying back to the Constitution, he could hear shouts and many raised voices. Morgan gritted his teeth, expecting the worst. On the deck was a line of slow-moving zombies staggering from the chain toward a makeshift barricade. A group of Sailors gathered behind the barricade. A sailor stepped forward and launched a small javelin at the line of zombies. He hit one, and the group cheered. Then they called out another Sailor. Jeering him and shoving him forward with a Javelin. He missed, and they laughed. Then handed him another javelin. This one hit a zombie in the head. The group erupted in shouts, clapping him on the back. Morgan smiled despite himself.

  The group of officers still sat around the table where he had left them. He went up and grabbed the man from the top of the bridge. He was sweating and trembled slightly as Morgan carried him down to the deck.

  “Have you reached an agreement?” Morgan asked.

  “We… we have some questions. If that is alright?” Riggs said.

  “I’ll answer as best I can,” Morgan replied.

  “How long before we can expect anyone?”

  “Could be weeks. I have no way of knowing. The ship will come directly to you, thanks to the stone from Corporal Nolan. But I don’t know how long the trip will take.”

  “Is there room for us there? Or will we be forced to establish our own place?”

  “They are planning on your coming. If there isn’t room now, Colonel Burns will have made plans for that already.”

  “Will we be safe from the screaming creature in the house?”

  “I…” Morgan began, then there was a muffled explosion in the background. “I took care of that problem.”

  They looked out over the ship. The Stoker still floated attached to the other ships with thick chains, but now the house was gone and there was a sizable crater in the deck.

  “Questions?” Morgan asked.

  “How can we repay you?”

  “I already have more than I need. Use it for you and your Sailors.”

  The men nodded seriously. Then Vance and Plugger both stood and slowly removed their ranks from their shoulders and handed them to Riggs. They saluted and then parted ways back to their ships.