by Paul Bellow
“That’ll be useful when fighting undead at night,” Bernard said.
“Is it for sale?” I asked. “We’ll take it if you’re offering.”
“Anything I can do to help,” Jack said. “How about a new weapon for everyone?”
“I’d rather have armor,” Bernard said.
“Me too,” Boki added.
“Not a problem,” Jack said. “It’s the least I can do for heroes such as yourself. We never thought we’d clear High Keep.”
Jack handed me a shiny scimitar.
“This is the Scimitar of Speed,” he said. “Two attacks per round.”
“Nice,” I said, grinning as I accepted it. “With dual-wield, that’s going to be nice.”
Jack smiled as I admired the sword in my hand.
“I’ve got two sets of Greater Chain Mail that should fit you two,” he said, walking across the room. “It’s not magic, but it’s high quality.”
Bernard and Boki followed him. As they tried on the armor, Josh glanced around.
“What about this huge sword?” he asked.
“Cleaver?” Jack asked. “He’s been looking for a new owner.”
Josh picked up the two-handed bastard sword and swung it through the air. I pulled out the FAST sword and held it in my left hand as a secondary weapon.
This is going to rock, I thought as I swung them both through the air. Even without taking all the loot from High Keep, we were being rewarded. Was it the game?
“I hope the items help,” Jack said. “I wish we could do more. Times have been strange since the dead started rising.”
“We’re thankful for everything, but we should be going,” I said.
“Hold on,” Josh said. “What about food? There’s nothing at the fort.”
“I’ll have my servants wrap up the food they prepared and more,” Jack said. “You can take it with you, as much as you can carry.”
“You’ve been too kind,” I said, offering my hand.
The white-haired gnome gripped it firmly and shook.
After Bernard and Boki finished putting on their armor, we walked back upstairs with Jack. Gloria met us in the kitchen. All the sandwiches and fruit prepared for us went into several baskets and bags along with sacks of rice and beans.
“Thanks again,” I said after we’d packed everything up.
“We’re happy you cleared High Keep,” Jack said. “That’s going to go a long way in helping us retake more lands from the undead.”
“Do you have any news from Harrisburg?” I asked. “That’s where we’re headed next.”
“Last I heard, they were safe and secure,” Jack said. “The local chieftain, I can’t remember his name, he’s kept his people safe.”
“The same in Fishguard,” Gloria added. “And other places. The undead haven’t won yet.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this mess,” I said. “We appreciate the help.”
Gloria smiled then leaned next to her husband and put an arm around his back. “Anytime you’re in the area, look us up,” she said.
The others followed me outside where we made our way back to Fort Sumter. Derringer had finished crafting his holy water bombs by the time we got back. Bernard offered to take the first guard shift that evening.
After a feast for dinner, I went to bed feeling good. I woke to Boki shaking my arm vigorously an unknown number of hours later. After sitting up, I rubbed my eyes with the back of my left hand.
The dwarf’s expression told me something had happened.
“What is it?” I asked. “Everyone okay?”
Boki frowned then shook his head. I climbed out of the bunk.
“What happened?” I asked as I grabbed both swords.
“Bernard found a crypt with tunnels underneath the fort while on guard patrol,” he said.
“And?”
I walked toward the door of the barracks.
“And I told him not to go down there alone, but he did anyway.”
Boki strived to keep up with my pace as I went to the main room of the fort.
“Where’s everyone else?” I asked.
“Derringer is asleep outside under the stars for some crazy reason, and Josh was raiding the kitchen last I looked,” Boki said.
“Is Bernard okay?” I asked. “Is he still down there in the crypt?”
Boki held his Warhammer close to his chest as he jogged next to me.
“He never came back up,” he said. “I waited an hour…”
“You waited an hour?” I asked then took a deep breath. “Josh, get in here! Why aren’t you helping Bernard?”
“Does Bernard need help?” he asked, looking up from where he sat at the broken-down table in what remained of the kitchen.
“Boki seems to think so,” I said. “Come on.”
“I’m eating,” he said. “Can’t it wait?”
“Let’s go,” I repeated in a stronger tone.
He pushed his chair back then stood, staring into my eyes. I looked away, back to Boki.
“Where’s the trap door?” I asked.
“This way,” Boki said, taking off outside.
I walked after him, followed by Josh. Outside, I saw Derringer laying on his back, looking up at the stars.
“You okay?” I asked as we approached.
He sat up, still wearing his armor.
“Yeah,” he said. “Why?”
“Bernard’s in trouble,” I said.
The dark knight struggled to his feet. Boki continued walking, heading outside the wooden palisades surrounding Fort Sumter.
“Over here,” Boki said. “He found a crypt above ground while on patrol. After coming to get me, we went inside and found a secret passage leading underground.”
“Why would he go down on his own?” I asked, shaking my head.
“I tried to stop him,” Boki said. “He wouldn’t listen.”
We reached a ramshackle crypt in the middle of a group of trees north of the fort and stopped. I walked through the open doorway, unable to see anything in the darkness.
“I need some light,” I said.
“We’ve got the lantern from Jack, but that’s overkill,” Derringer said.
You’re telling me. I stepped back outside.
“Doesn’t anyone have a torch?” I asked.
“Bernard usually has them,” Josh said. “I’ll go get one.”
“Hurry up,” I said.
“Wait,” Derringer said. “I’ve got a light that runs on gems. Anyone have an extra?”
“Does everything you have run on gems?” I asked.
He grinned then said, “Most of the stuff I’ve crafted. Why?”
“Just wondering.”
“Did you hear that?” Josh asked.
“Not the time for practical jokes,” I said.
“I’m not kidding,” he said. “You don’t hear that sound?”
“No,” I said, looking down at Boki.
He scrunched his face up and shook his head.
“I don’t hear it either,” Derringer said then produced a metal box that emitted light.
“Let’s check the crypt,” I said.
He joined me inside the cramped space. The magic light powered by gemstones revealed every detail of the rundown burial chamber. Red splotches, long since dried, covered the walls.
Someone had removed the heavy lid off a sarcophagus in middle of the room. I walked over and saw a set of stairs leading down instead of a body.
“Bring the light closer,” I said.
Derringer stepped over and positioned his device above the coffin. The light barely penetrated the darkness below.
I still heard nothing.
“You still don’t hear that?” Josh asked from the doorway of the crypt.
“No,” I said. “What’s it sound like?”
Before he answered, Boki shouted, “Headless riders approaching!”
“Everyone in the crypt,” I said, not knowing enough about headless riders.
&nb
sp; Derringer climbed into the sarcophagus then walked down the stairs.
I waited for Boki and Josh to come into the crypt then followed, carefully watching my steps.
“They’re coming,” Josh said, rushing past me on the stone stairs.
I crashed against the wall, almost falling.
“Watch it,” I snapped.
The big, stupid half-orc caught up to Derringer then stopped and looked back.
“I hear them,” he said, a hint of fear in his voice.
What is he talking about? I still didn’t hear anything.
“Bernard?” I called out.
No answer.
“Let’s keep moving down,” I said.
Derringer and Josh continued down the narrow, steep stairs with Boki and me close behind.
“Wait, should we close the lid of the sarcophagus?” I asked.
“The Headless Riders won’t follow us down here,” Derringer said. “I’m sure of it. Well, mostly sure.”
“Let’s keep going,” I said, peering down the stairs.
We walked for at least another minute, heading deep underground. The air became damper and staler the further down we went.
“Keep your eyes open,” I said as we reached the bottom.
The others stopped in the tunnel at the bottom of the stairs that headed off in a single direction. Boki reached out and touched the sides of the earthen tunnel before sniffing his fingers.
“Freshly dug,” he said. “I’m not sure by what.”
“Let’s follow it,” I said. “Maybe Bernard got lost down here.”
I walked down the narrow tunnel only wide enough for a single person. The light from Derringer’s gem-eating contraption flowed over my shoulders, lighting the way.
With every step, my heart raced faster. I glanced down, unable to see any tracks. Had Bernard come this way? And where had he gone? The mystery deepened.
“There’s an opening ahead,” I said as the tunnel opened into a small room.
Inside the cramped space, I saw a ladder made from chains leading up to a wooden trapdoor. Two more tunnels wandered off from the far end of the irregularly shaped room.
“I think that leads to the fort,” Boki said, staring up at the trap door.
“Are you sure? We went down a lot of stairs, but the rope ladder doesn’t go up very far.”
“I’m positive,” the dwarf said. “We went down, but we’ve been also walking up.”
“We need to find Bernard.” I glanced over at the other tunnels. “Which way?”
“I say we go up,” Josh said. “The dwarf might be wrong.”
Boki shrugged and said, “He’s not wrong.”
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll go first.”
At the top of the ladder, I pushed the wooden trapdoor open.
“Help!” Bernard shouted from the room.
I threw the wooden hatch back and climbed the rest of the way out. Bernard stood with his back to a door that appeared ready to crash open. I heard cats hissing and growling outside.
Josh poked his head out of the square hole in the floor.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
I turned to Bernard.
“This is a hidden room at the fort,” he said. “We don’t have much time. I need you to kill me. Hurry up.”
“Very funny,” I said. “Step aside, and we’ll kill the cats on the other side of the door.”
“You don’t understand,” he said, a look of terror in his eyes. “They’re zombie cats.”
“We can take them.”
I stepped forward and drew my new Scimitar of Speed.
“Kill me and go back down,” he said. “It’s the only way to escape.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“My body will prop the door closed long enough for you to escape.”
I shook my head and said, “That’s crazy. I’m not killing you.”
“Do you want me to turn into a zombie?” he asked.
“I want you to come with me back down to the catacombs. We’ll be safe.”
“There’s too many of them, Eric. Someone needs to hold the door.”
Bernard kept his back pressed against the failing wood.
“I’ll take an Everlast potion,” I said. “We’ve got this.”
“No,” he hissed. “Those are too dangerous. I’ve taken them before too. They’re great at first because of the stat boosts, but after a while it gets insane.”
“I don’t care,” I said.
Bernard shook his head.
“Hurry up and kill me,” he said. “You don’t have much time.”
I took a deep breath, not ready to kill a companion.
“We’ll meet again,” Bernard said. “I’m sure of it.”
The hissing and meowing sounds got louder.
“Make it quick,” he said. “Just make sure my body falls in front of the door.”
“I can’t do it,” I said.
Josh climbed out of the trap-hole in the floor.
“Out of my way,” he said. “I’ll do it.”
I watched in horror as he pointed the tip of his two-handed sword at Bernard’s chest.
“Can’t we push something in front of the door?” I asked, looking around frantically.
“I’ve been bit already,” Bernard said. “I don’t have much time.”
“Bye, Bernard,” Josh said as he stabbed him with his long, steel blade.
“No!” I shouted.
Josh moved the body until it rested against the door. The sounds of the zombie cats grew louder on the other side.
I stood, stunned at what I’d just seen.
“Come on,” Josh said. “It had to be done. He’ll respawn.”
“You just killed Bernard,” I said, still shocked.
“Because he asked us to do it,” Josh said. “He’d been bit. It’ll be fine.”
After he climbed down the ladder, I followed, closing the trap door behind me.
“We need to go,” Derringer said when I reached the bottom.
“Go where?” I asked. “Should we go warn King Angmore?”
“About cat zombies?” Boki shook his head. “They probably know.”
“No,” I said. “About the Headless Riders and everything else. These tunnels are new. I bet they’re trying to dig their way into Westwood.”
“We should see where these tunnels go,” I said.
Derringer held up his light and looked around the cavern.
“How do we know there’s not something even worse down here?” he asked. “Maybe we should go back above ground outside the fort?”
“No,” I said. “We keep exploring underground until daylight.”
“I’ve got my holy water bombs ready,” Derringer said. “Seven of them.”
The tunnels were about twenty-feet apart, leading in slightly different directions.
“Which way?” I asked.
“Do you have a pink colored gem?” Derringer asked. “I have a compass, but I’m out of gems.”
I laughed nervously as I shook my head.
“What’s so funny?” he asked. “I’m being serious.”
“This is all so surreal. If I wasn’t laughing, I’d be crying,” I said. “Let’s try the passage on the left. I want to see how far these tunnels go.”
Above us, undead cats continued causing a ruckus. I pulled both swords, tightly gripping the hilts. Boki, Derringer and Josh followed me as I walked into the tunnel.
The dark knight’s light cast eerie shadows on the walls of the tunnel as we walked. Musty smells full of death filled the air. Why had someone decided to flood the entire level with undead? Magi Inyontoo popped into my head as a likely culprit. Why did he have to cause so many problems?
After a few hundred yards, the tunnel opened into an ancient burial chamber. Eight sarcophagi had been carefully placed horizontally around the circular room, forming a ring. The heavy stone tops were missing while others had been broken into pieces large and small.
I looked inside the nearest one and saw nothing.
“Uh oh,” Boki said. “Missing bodies isn’t a good sign.”
“Maybe it’s graverobbers,” I said, not believing it myself.
“Or whatever was in them came back to life,” Derringer said. “Mummies?”
“I’ll slash a mummy in two if I need to,” Josh said, holding his sword and flexing his muscles.
I headed to the space behind one of the sarcophagi and searched for any secret doors.
“Nothing,” I said, running my hand over the smooth stone wall.
“Let’s backtrack to the other tunnel,” Derringer said. “Maybe they’re having a mummy tea-party or something. If not, we need to get back topside and figure out what’s going on.”
“If we find mummies having a tea-party, I’ll give you a million gold,” Boki said.
Josh lowered his sword and said, “Give me some of that action. It’s not like this game would have something crazy like that, right?”
“Stay alert,” I said, ignoring the others and walking back to the tunnel.
They followed behind me in a single line. If we were attacked in the narrow tunnel, we would be in trouble, so I moved quickly back to the chamber underneath the fort.
When we reached the cavern with the chain ladder leading up, I noticed the sound of cats had stopped. An odd, electrical smell rushed out of the second tunnel we hadn’t explored.
“That’s not a good smell,” Boki said.
“No kidding.” I stepped toward the dark tunnel. “Maybe we should go back topside.”
“We got this,” Derringer said. “Might as well have a look since we’re here.”
“He’s right,” Boki said. “Maybe we’ll find more treasure.”
“Okay,” I said. “You want to tank for us, Josh?”
The half-orc grinned and nodded his head.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
We followed him into the tunnel we hadn’t explored. The smell of rotting flesh got worse as we kept going. I fought the urge to barf as I wondered what we would encounter. Whatever it might be, I doubted it would be mummies having a tea-party.
“There’s something up ahead,” Josh said, stopping. “Dim the light.”
“What is it?” Derringer asked behind me.
“I don’t know,” Josh said. “Get ready to find out.”
He screamed like a level forty-nine Leroy Jenkins then rushed down the tunnel. We ran after him in single file.