by Adam Horne
Over the course of a half hour, they drew the zombies out in groups of two or three and slowly moved deeper into the temple. They sometimes had to wait for the mobs to shift so they weren’t all clumped together, but they never ran the risk of being overwhelmed. At one point, Througar accidentally drew four at once, and Kelath had to switch to throwing healing elixirs until they’d handled two of them. He had no desire to take on five at the same time, so they moved carefully as they went along.
They cleared the entire room before approaching an altar set upon a stone dais. A small gong with a mallet rested on top of it. Built into the wall behind the dais was a closed, wooden door with recessed arches carved into the stone on either side. The door was locked, and although Kelath tried to pick it, the mechanism was too complicated.
“I can’t get this door open,” he said.
“I imagine there is some kind of challenge we must face before we can move on,” said Galahad. “Perhaps the way will open if we strike this gong.”
“That will probably trigger an event,” said Througar. “I doubt it will be a boss this early, but the fight will be harder than usual.”
“There’s no way to know unless we try,” said Elora.
“The three of you move back to the pews,” said Througar. “I’ll strike the gong then join you. I have a feeling whatever we’re fighting will come through the door.”
They retreated from the dais as Througar picked up the mallet. A deep bass ringing emanated from the gong when he struck it, then he backed up to join them. Doors hidden in the carved arches rumbled as they slid down into the floor. A zombie like the ones they’d been fighting lumbered through the opening on the right and charged towards Througar.
Kelath hurled a fire bolt at the enemy, even though it wasn’t as powerful as the ones Elora was casting. It still did more damage than attacking with his dagger because of the zombie’s resistance to poison and bleeds, and he didn’t want to waste a bomb on one target. When they defeated the first mob, two new zombies ran forward, one from each door. Througar slashed at one and got its attention, but the other ran around him and charged at Elora, who had already hit it with a fire bolt.
“Don’t you know dwarf brains taste better?” Througar yelled to provoke it, and the zombie returned to fight him.
Kelath chuckled as he alternated casting fire bolts at the two new zombies. He would have thrown a fire bomb this time if Througar hadn’t been sandwiched between the two mobs. If he critically hit, there was nothing Kelath could do to stop the flames from harming his friend. They were still dishing out damage at a decent rate and spreading it between the two targets, so that they both fell within a few seconds of each other. This time, three zombies ran out of the tunnels.
“How long do you think this will go on?” asked Elora between spell casts.
“I don’t know,” said Kelath, “but we should be careful about mana levels. If you get low, don’t be afraid to drink a potion to restore MP. Galahad, say something if you need me to heal more.”
“I’m fine for the moment,” said Galahad.
Througar had rounded up the three zombies and was holding them at the edge of the group. Kelath threw a fire bomb but it didn’t ignite the ground. He had to use three more before he finally got a critical hit, and again the zombies weren’t smart enough to move out of the zone of fire. While his teammates continued attacking, he took a break to summon more bombs and healing elixirs. He didn’t want to run out at a time when they had to fight more enemies at once.
Only one zombie was still standing when the flames from his bomb snuffed out. He ran forward to finish the fight with his dagger. When it fell, four new ones ran out to take its place. He checked mana levels for the party and saw Galahad was around half, while Elora was below a quarter. As a wizard she used mana more quickly than any other class, which normally wasn’t a problem because she could replenish between fights. Even if she drank a potion to refill, he wasn’t sure she would last through the fight.
Kelath readied an ice bomb and threw it when the zombies were close enough to hit all of them at once.
Critical hit!
All four froze in place, and the party took the opportunity to get in a few hits without retaliation. One of the enemies cracked and fell apart before the effect wore off, and the other three went down without much trouble.
When the last one was almost dead, Kelath said, “I hope this is the last group, but if five come out after this, I’ll target the ones on the right with a bomb and kite them while you take out the others. I have enough ice bombs to keep them off me for a while.”
“Gotcha,” said Througar as he cut into the neck of the last zombie, severing its head.
Kelath prepared an ice bomb and placed the reticle in front of the opening in the stonework, releasing it when the first rotten foot stepped through. By the time it landed, three zombies had come out of the archway, and they all turned towards Kelath and slid across the ice to get him. Even worse, three more zombies charged out the other side.
“Oh crap!” said Elora as she drank a mana potion. “There are six this time, not five. I hope this is the last wave.”
“Me too,” said Galahad, who was casting heals almost nonstop.
Kelath ran in the direction of the entrance. He cut into a row of pews, which slowed the zombies as they were forced to climb over them. He lobbed another ice bomb behind himself to hinder them even more. He ran around the main room of the temple for five minutes while the rest of his party killed the three mobs that had come from the other archway. Once they were down, Througar taunted the zombies from Kelath individually while he continued to run away from the others. Galahad was nearly out of mana, and Elora had resorted to throwing bombs and whacking the zombies with her staff. The last one finally fell, and they all held their breath.
A rumbling sound filled the room as stone panels slid up to cover the archways, and the front of the altar opened to reveal a chest. All four of them collapsed on the pews, too worn out from the prolonged fight to celebrate. Elora and Galahad both pulled out bottles of water and drank to replenish their mana.
“That was a challenging fight,” said Galahad.
“I hope the other fights don’t last that long,” said Througar. “I need to come up with more effective taunts to use, because I almost couldn’t pull the last zombie away from you.”
“It worked out,” said Kelath. “I’m going to check the chest. It should have something good after a fight like that.”
He approached the altar and pulled the chest out from the recessed area where it had been hidden. He flipped the lid back and saw a pile of silver coins and a mace inside. He took the weapon and examined it.
Zombie Smasher (rare): Provides a +3 bonus to Intelligence and Willpower.
Kelath whistled when he saw the mace’s stats, since all the items he’d found so far only boosted one attribute. “The fight was definitely worth it for you, Galahad.”
Galahad walked forward and took the weapon, his eyes growing wide when he saw its properties. “This is a very special treasure. It would be good for Elora too. Perhaps she should have it.”
“Keep it, Gally,” said Elora with a wink. “I prefer a nice staff.”
Galahad was so overjoyed, he completely missed the fact she’d used the nickname he hated. He stowed the morningstar he had been using in his pack and equipped the mace, taking a few practice swings. Kelath jumped up and restrained him, worried he might hit the gong and unleash another horde of zombies they would have to fight. Now that they’d finished the battle, he checked the door again and found it was unlocked. He pushed it open to reveal a spiral staircase leading down.
Chapter 25
Througar led the way down the staircase, circling several times before reaching the bottom. This lower level had floors made of dirt, and thousands of bones stacked on top of each other formed the walls.
“This place reminds me of the catacombs under Paris,” said Kelath.
“I’ve seen
pictures,” said Elora, who was keeping well away from the walls. “They gave me the creeps.”
“Do not worry, my lady. The dead cannot hurt us.” Galahad marched forward and gasped in surprise as he nearly crashed into a pair of skeletons that walked around a corner out of a hallway.
They all laughed as Galahad hastened back, the mobs close on his heels. Througar attacked one and taunted the other, holding them both while Kelath and Elora attacked with spells. Similar to zombies, fire had the most effect on their undead bodies, so Kelath cast a fire bolt instead of using his dagger. When the second skeleton shattered into a pile of unmoving bones, Througar clapped Galahad on the shoulder and grinned.
“Don’t worry, Gally. I won’t let the undead hurt you.”
“That’s not funny…and don’t call me Gally.”
“Why not? Elora did earlier and you didn’t object.”
“She was being nice.”
Kelath moved forward cautiously to peer around the corner the skeletons had come around. A long corridor with bone walls stretched out in front of him, torches placed at intervals so he could see the whole length. The path turned out of sight after a hundred yards. Pairs of skeletons patrolled the hallway at regular intervals.
“This floor definitely has a theme,” he said.
Elora walked up behind him, still keeping her distance from the walls. “Let’s go quickly. I feel like these piles of bones are going to fall on top of me at any moment.”
They proceeded down the corridor, killing the groups of skeletons they met until the tunnel turned to the left. The hallway went around a corner then looped back on itself before opening into corridors that went multiple directions. It was a tightly-packed maze, and they had to decide at each intersection which way they should go. Often they ended up at dead ends and had to turn back, and they fought groups of patrolling skeletons as they slowly made their way through.
After an eternity of taking wrong turns and being forced to backtrack, they emerged from the maze into a large, circular room. Three wooden tables in the center each had a bloated corpse on top of them, and a skeleton in a black robe bent over the one in the middle. The caster pulled on a needle and thread as it sewed up the stomach of the body on the slab. When they moved into the room, the skeletal mage straightened, looked them over, then pointed at the walls behind them. Bones around the doorframe grew out into long, thin bars to block the exit.
“So you’re the ones who have been killing my minions,” said the skeleton in a rattling wheeze. “No matter. I’ll use your bodies to make new servants.”
The necromancer made complex motions with his hands, and black energy formed around his fingers. He pointed at Galahad, shooting a ray of darkness that struck him in the chest and removed a portion of his HP. Througar raced across the room.
“I was the one who killed your minions!” yelled Througar as he ran. “Bandit needed a bone to chew on.”
The necromancer ground its teeth together and aimed its next attack at the charging dwarf. Kelath prepared a fire bomb and threw it before following after Througar with his dagger drawn. He didn’t know what this fight would bring and didn’t want to use all his mana casting spells only to realize later he needed to conjure more bombs or elixirs. Galahad healed himself then moved to the middle of the room. Elora cast fire bolt continuously, doing most of the damage for the party.
The enemy’s spells hit hard, phasing through Througar’s armor and ignoring his damage reduction because they were a form of dark energy. Although there was equipment that reduced different types of spell damage, Kelath hadn’t seen any so far. The necromancer began to channel a spell that sent waves of blackness washing across the floor, simultaneously healing itself and hurting Througar, Bandit, and Kelath because they were close.
“Can anyone interrupt that?” yelled Kelath.
Elora canceled the fire bolt she’d been casting and made a quick swiping motion with her hand. The skeleton dropped its hands and shook its head like it had forgotten what it was doing. After a moment, it renewed its attacks on Througar.
“Thanks, Elora,” said Kelath. “I could kiss you for that!”
She winked. “I’ll remember that when the fight’s over.”
For a while everything went well, with Galahad keeping them healed and Elora interrupting the channeled spell, until the necromancer dropped to three quarters health. It let out a piercing wail that caused all their characters to stagger backwards in shock.
Intelligence check to resist. You have been stunned for 8 seconds.
The boss chanted a new spell and pointed at one of the corpses on a nearby table. It rose and shuffled across the room, its bulk blocking Kelath’s view as it approached Elora. The zombie’s body began to bloat, green steam shooting from tears in its skin until it finally exploded. Body parts and green ichor sprayed out, covering everything within twenty feet. Elora’s health dropped to half from the initial explosion and continued falling as the caustic liquid burned her.
“Elora!” Kelath yelled when he could move again.
He retrieved a healing elixir from his bag and threw it at her feet. When her stun wore off, she chanted the words of a spell to erect a magic barrier around herself. It spread out from her skin, removing the acidic goo, although the substance continued to eat away at the barrier. Her health was almost gone, and she probably would have died without Kelath’s help. Galahad shook off his own stun and concentrated on healing her back to full.
The necromancer cackled before renewing its attack on Througar. Expecting the necromancer could perform the attack again, Kelath shouted instructions to the others as he ran back to his position.
“There are two more corpses lying here,” he yelled, “so we should expect it to do that again. Whenever the boss is close to half health, make sure to spread out. If he sends more exploding zombies at us, we might not all survive.”
“A sound plan,” said Galahad.
They continued fighting, wearing down their opponent slowly but surely. Kelath yelled for them to scatter when he felt another exploding zombie was imminent, and they each ran in different directions while Bandit did the last bit of damage. Elora cast another magic barrier on herself, and Kelath pulled an elixir from his pouch. They’d barely gotten out of range of each other when the necromancer wailed again.
Intelligence check to resist. You have been stunned for 6 seconds.
Kelath stumbled to the ground and tried to rise while the necromancer animated another zombie. It pushed its bulk off the table and shambled towards him. He watched the stun timer count down as the zombie began to shake and swell in size. Before it could explode, he regained control and ran away as fast as he could. The explosion singed the backs of his legs, but he took much less damage than Elora and was able to escape without getting covered in ichor. He only lost about a third of his health, which Galahad quickly restored.
They returned to the fight, everyone doing their respective jobs until the boss’s health bar reached a quarter. Kelath ran away again but didn’t yell out, assuming the others would know what to expect this time. When the necromancer wailed, Througar was still standing there with Bandit at his side.
Intelligence check to resist. You have been stunned for 9 seconds.
Kelath could only watch as the final zombie animated, approached the two, and exploded. Througar’s health dropped precipitously and kept falling from the effects of the ichor. Before Kelath could react to throw an elixir, Througar dropped to the floor and Bandit disappeared.
Kelath screamed in rage when he regained control. Without Througar to keep the necromancer’s attention, it shot rays of darkness at members of their group randomly. Elora still had her magic barrier to block the damage, but Kelath and Galahad were taking some hard hits. They didn’t have as much health as a tank, and Galahad had to cast heals without a break, his mana below half and falling fast. Kelath drew bombs and threw them as quickly as he could.
Critical hit!
The floor around the
necromancer erupted in flame. Unfortunately, this enemy wasn’t as dumb as the earlier zombies, so it moved to escape the fire. Kelath threw an ice bomb to slow it down. The necromancer still had around ten percent of its health when Galahad called out.
“I’m out of mana!” Galahad charged at the necromancer, his mace swinging in wide arcs.
Kelath moved next to Galahad and dropped healing elixirs at their feet as they fought. When he was out of both bombs and elixirs, he cast fire bolts to take out the last small sliver of the necromancer’s health. When it finally fell backwards onto one of the tables, both his and Galahad’s HP were critical.
“Man, that was close!” said Kelath. “I didn’t know if we were going to make it.”
“You were brilliant!” Elora ran across the room, wrapped her arms around Kelath’s neck, and kissed him full on the mouth. When she let go, he sputtered.
“What was that for?”
“I said I would remember after the fight.” She didn’t wink this time, her shoulders hunched together like she’d suddenly become shy. She ducked her head down and said, “It doesn’t mean anything.”
Kelath touched his fingers to his lips, unsure what to think.
Galahad turned away, obviously embarrassed. He went to Througar’s body and began chanting a spell that took almost ten seconds to complete. A ball of light formed in his hand that he pressed to Througar’s chest. The dwarf’s eyes opened, and he let out a gasping breath before sitting up and coughing.
“Well that was no fun.” Througar looked around, eying Kelath and Elora suspiciously. “What did I miss?”
Kelath laughed uncomfortably. “Uh…nothing. We were able to kill the boss.”
“Oh, cool. Did it have any good loot?”
Kelath moved to check the body. He found some more money and a set of robes.