I sucked in a quiet breath. The shapes were bigger than a man, hunched. Ghouls? Or something worse?
Leo's free hand drifted toward his pouch of salt. Ren slowly raised Dawn's Edge higher. The golden light grew, revealing more. The figures had gray, mottled skin and elongated arms tipped with claws. They wore ragged remnants of armor, and their eyes… actually, they had no eyes. Just empty sockets that glinted with blue witchfire.
The one on the left turned its head towards us, sniffing or sensing the light. A low growl emanated from its throat, like a bear rattling in a cave.
Well, so much for sneaking.
"Plan?" I breathed, so soft it was barely air.
Ren answered by striding forward with zero hesitation. That was the plan: engage. Classic Ren.
The ghoul on the left lunged from its alcove, surprisingly fast for something that looked half-fossilized. Its claws scraped stone as it charged Ren. The second one on the right began moving too, but slower, circling toward Leo and me.
Ren met the first ghoul head-on. Dawn's Edge swept out in a horizontal slash, catching the creature across the midsection. A burst of hissing smoke erupted. The holy blade burned through its decayed flesh, leaving a glowing gash. The ghoul snarled in pain, swinging a massive arm at Ren, but he ducked under it with swordsman grace. His return strike lopped that arm clean off, and the limb thudded to the ground.
I whooped quietly. Mr Ren was carving it up like a roast. But then the ghoul did what ghouls do: fought harder despite injury. It lunged to bite him with a mouth full of jagged teeth. He blocked with the flat of the sword, and they ended up in a grappling standstill, the ghoul snapping inches from Ren's face as he held it back.
Meanwhile, ghoul number two came for Leo and me. It moved like a crab, scuttling low. Leo unfurled his ward scroll and slapped it on the ground, chanting, "By the radiant commadmant, Halt!" Golden script flared up in front of us, forming a temporary barrier just as the creature pounced. It slammed into an invisible wall and recoiled, confused.
"Ha!" I couldn't help but let out a triumphant bark of laughter. "Nice one, Leo."
He gave me a tight grin, sweat already beading on his brow from maintaining the ward. The ghoul, undeterred by confusion, began pounding on the barrier with both fists, each hit sending ripples through the golden light. It wouldn't hold long.
I stepped up beside Leo. "My turn." I raised my left arm, aligning the crystals on the bracer toward the ghoul. With a push of my mana and a flick of intent, I snapped my fingers .....and
'Tick'.
A bolt of sizzling blue-white energy crackled forth, striking the ghoul square in the chest. The chamber lit up starkly for an instant. The creature spasmed, a guttural shriek ripping from its throat as arcs of electricity danced over its body. The smell of charred flesh joined the bouquet of nasty scents.
"Woo! Shocking development!" I quipped, as the ghoul collapsed to one knee. I think in its dying spasm it rolled its eyeless head toward me, as if in exasperation at the pun, and then flopped forward, smoke curling from its torso.
Leo dissipated the ward with a wave, not wasting energy now that it wasn't needed. He gave me a mildly reproachful look for the joke, but I saw the relief there too.
Ren was finishing up with his foe. With a grunt of effort, he drove Dawn's Edge up under the ghoul's jaw. Light flared from the creature's eye sockets and mouth as the holy weapon did its work from inside its skull. With a final groan, the ghoul slid off Ren's blade and hit the ground, decapitated.
Ren stepped back, breathing a little harder but otherwise fine. Not a scratch on him. He wiped green-black ichor off the sword onto what remained of the ghoul's tattered tunic. "Area clear."
"Clear of big guys," I corrected, pointing to the chamber beyond. "We still have to check out the rest."
The chamber was about the size of a village chapel, with a vaulted ceiling that dripped mineral water. And it wasn't empty. In the center lay a stone bier—likely a tomb platform. On it was a sarcophagus, lid askew and broken. The walls had shelves carved into them, where bones and urns rested. Many were disturbed or missing.
Leo approached one wall, scanning. "They've been using the old corpses," he noted, voice hushed with dismay. "Probably raising whatever they could find." Indeed, there were drag marks and shattered urns suggesting the dead were not resting in peace.
I went to the central tomb. The lid's inscription was mostly worn, but I could make out a few letters: "Harael" and "Wind." My breath caught. "Guys… this might've been the Wind Commander's tomb."
Ren came to stand next to me. He ran a hand along the broken edge of the stone coffin. The inside was empty save for some scraps of ancient cloth. "Desecrated," he said quietly, a hint of anger in his tone.
If the necromancer disturbed the Wind Commander's grave, that could definitely piss off a legendary wraith. Perhaps that's why the Wind Wraith was so active, beyond just old duty, someone robbed his grave. The necromancer might have taken something from it, or tried to control the spirit. If so, maybe that attempt failed and now ghosty was very mad at everyone. Though I can hardly to blame him.
Leo took a quick survey of the chamber's corners. "No sign of Boran or others here now. The necromancer's likely not present at the moment."
"Too bad," I muttered. Part of me had hoped we'd catch the puppetmaster napping. No such luck.
Ren sheathed Dawn's Edge. "We should leave before more guards show up."
"Agreed," Leo said, gathering some fragments of a broken tablet from the floor, I guess he'd want to study them later.
As we were leaving, I gave the dark tomb a last look. It was depressing, in a grand way. A hero's resting place defiled, an ancient curse lingering. But also… opportunity afterall we are not some heroes in the legend, we are here resolve the situation with the village and be done with this system trial ot whatever it is. We'd use any advantage we can.
"If we fight near here, think the Wind Wraith might be drawn?" I mused. "This is his turf, after all."
Ren considered. "Likely. Could be a double-edged sword."
Leo looked between us. "We might not have a choice. If the necromancer is working here, he'll return to this spot. Perhaps tonight." He shivered despite the stuffy air. None of us needed to say what we were thinking: tonight's battle might very well take place in or around this very crypt.
"Then at least we've scoped it out," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "And we gave his welcoming committee a rude goodbye." I nudged one of the fallen ghouls with my boot for emphasis.
We backtracked out the tunnel, leaving the corpses where they fell. No time for clean-up on aisle crypt; if all went well, we'd burn the whole place out later. If not… well, tidy mausoleums wouldn't matter to dead men.
Twilight was just starting to claim the sky when we emerged from the gap. True to promise, Mira was waiting just inside the village gate, anxiety writ plain on her face until she saw us. She rushed forward. "You're back!"
"And we come bearing information," Leo said, holding up the bits of tablet and his notes.
I hopped over a shallow trench and patted the Lightning bracers. "Also, some fried ghoul, but we left that at the door."
Mira looked between us wide-eyed. Ren simply held up a reassuring hand. "We're alright. We found an underground tomb—the source of this."
She pressed a hand to her mouth. "Father Aram suspected something like that, but he never found it. He'll want to know—" She cut herself off, hope and sorrow mingling in her eyes. "When we find him," she amended softly.
Leo placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We will. There were no signs of new human remains there. If he was taken, likely he's kept alive for a ritual." Not exactly comforting, but Leo meant well. And he was probably right. Necromancers often save fresh victims for special occasions.
Mira took a breath. "Then we have to stop that ritual." Her voice hardened with resolve.
"We do," I agreed. I was well aware that if the necromancer gained control of Wraith, it'd be pretty much failure of the trial quest.
The first stars were peeking out overhead, and the village bell rang once in the distance—sunset warning. "And we should get ready. Nightfall soon."
Ren rolled his shoulder, easing a muscle. "We have maybe half an hour before they make a move, if they stick to pattern."
"Enough time to catch our breaths and go over the plan," Leo said.
I nodded, though I wasn't sure how much of a plan we truly had beyond "fight stuff." But we'd figure it out. We always did. It was more to myself than to other.
We walked back into the village proper, closing the gate behind us. The guards set the heavy beam in place. Everyone was hunkering down. Lamplight glowed from windows, and a cluster of villagers were gathered in the square around a crackling bonfire—men, women, and children bundled and sitting close together, eyes reflecting the flames and their worry.
Mira touched the bronze amulet at her neck and then looked at me, Leo and Ren. Her gaze lingering on each of us as if memorizing our faces. "I should go reassure them," she said, indicating the villagers.
"You already have," I said softly, but I understood. She needed to be with her people now.
Leo gave her a quick rundown: "We suspect the necromancer will either attack the village outright or attempt something at the crypt. We're going to keep watch, and if we're right about Boran, we'll follow him."
Mira's expression darkened at Boran's name but she kept her composure. "If he slips away, I'll try to distract anyone from noticing. The last thing we need is panic."
I gave her an appreciative nod. "We'll handle him. You focus on keeping folks calm and together."
Ren added in a steady tone, "Stay near the elder, and keep that amulet on. If anything feels off or if you hear a bell ring multiple times, head for the temple basement. That goes for everyone."
She acknowledged the instruction solemnly. Then, to our surprise, she stepped forward and pulled us into a quick, tight hug—Leo and me at least (Ren got an awkward pat on the arm when he didn't lean into the hug). "Thank you," she whispered. "All of you. Please… be careful."
My throat felt a little thick. I managed a light laugh to diffuse it. "We'll be fine. We still owe you for those holy snacks, right?"
She released us, a tear shining in her eye that she quickly wiped away. "I expect to collect that debt," she replied, voice wavering with a hopeful attempt at humor.
With that, Mira turned and jogged off toward the square, already calling out to some worried-looking families to usher them closer to the fire.
I watched her for a moment, then forced myself to focus. "Alright, gentlemen," I said to my companions. "We have one sketchy miller to tail and one nasty necromancer to slay. Let's get into position."
Leo and Ren nodded. The three of us melted into the dimming evening, taking our places in the gathering dark, predators lying in wait, ready to pounce when the time was right.