Looting the mage netted us a set of unidentified magical robes and a necklace to go with them, as well as about one hundred gold in assorted coins and a few moderate healing and rejuvenation potions.
And there was the lair itself. We examined the piles of books, looking for anything useful that we could sell that weren’t necromantic in nature. Many of the books were written in languages that I couldn’t understand, but the diagrams within them made most of them easily identifiable as necromantic.
Some of the other tomes were just normal lore books, which I figured could be useful either to sell, or to gain new skills, and some were actual mage tomes that could be used by arcane casting classes to learn new spells.
Those would fetch a pretty penny, or we could probably trade them to other players for a lot more than an NPC shopkeeper would give us.
We tossed the necromancy books into the corner of the room and set them on fire as we left. They burned with the same sickly green color that I had come to associate with the foul art before slowly transforming into normal colored flames as whatever residual magic was contained in the pages was burned away.
The small room began to fill with smoke, so we headed back out into the workroom and then down the last explored path. Facing an unknown number of undead made me really wish I could bring Amenhotep back.
As we passed out of boss room, I felt the hairs on my neck stand on end.
“Get ready! Something is down here,” I said, readying my spear and shield. Ahead a dark form rose out of the stone floor, its glowing eyes shining with malice as it flew towards us.
“Wraith!” I yelled, bracing my spear as it darted in, its pitch-black form flying above us and lashing out with its claws.
It easily avoided my spear, and Kjara’s sword scraped against the ceiling as the wraith's incorporeal form fled into the stone.
We stood back to back, and proceeded down the tunnel, keeping an eye on the walls and ceiling for the wraith's return.
The narrow tunnel was definitely not the ideal place to face an enemy that could phase through stone.
I felt a prickling on my skin from the left and turned just in time to see the wraith flow out of the wall and slash its claws deeply through Kjara’s chest.
She gasped in pain and lashed out at the dark form. Her counterattack sliced off a piece of the shadowy undead which quickly dissipated into the air as the creature flowed into the opposite wall.
Kjara’s hit points had dropped by almost half from the single hit, and I could see a chilled debuff next to her name in the party interface.
I cast Soothing Touch, letting the magic flow into her through the haft of my spear which I rested against her side as we moved forward.
The next time I sensed something it came from above. I called out a warning and we both ducked in time, stabbing and slashing our weapons through the wraith before it could retreat again into the solid stone.
We followed the tunnel into another small room, this one lit by an eerie green light emanating from a corpse that had been hung from stakes driven through its limbs into the stone wall.
I had hoped for some more room to maneuver but the room was littered with trog corpses, their rotting forms covering the floor.
A flash at my feet caught my attention and I looked down and cursed.
“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! Back! Get back out!” I yelled as the trogs began to shift and rise.
“Wait!? Why?” she shouted back, then seemed to realize what had happened and fled the room.
The wraith dashed out of the floor between us and raked its claws through my back, my health bar dropping to a little over half while its was now again full.
“It heals from damaging us?” Kjara asked rhetorically, “Damn I hate this thing already.”
I shrank my spear and tucked it into my belt. “Brace yourself,” I called, casting Flamestrike and throwing the flaming javelin back into the room from which the animated trogs were beginning to emerge.
As the spell left my hand the wrath emerged from the ceiling and flew right for me. I raised my shield and deflected its attack.
The Flamestrike detonated in the small room and a rush of air knocked me back a step.
The wraith screeched in agony and its health bar dipped to under half which made no sense since it hadnt been hit by the spell.
The wraith’s arm dissipated into nothingness and I was even more confused until I saw the damage in the other room, and the sight of the now armless corpse hanging nailed to the wall before the remaining undead trogs obscured my view.
*** Congratulations! You have become more skilled with Discerning Eye and have reached Rank 3! ***
*** Congratulations! You have become more skilled with Lore (Necromancy) and have reached Rank 3! ***
The wraith retreated into the walls again as I yelled, “Kjara! The wraith is tied to the wall decoration there! We need to get through!”
“Easier said than done,” she replied, fending off another strafing attack by the wraith. “Can you hold the wraith off while I clear a path?”
I thought for a second and then grinned, responding “Oh yes. Yes I can,” and brought the Beacon of Life spell glyphs into my mind.
My shield began to pulse as I was surrounded by a glowing golden aura which held the lesser undead at bay.
The wraith attempted another attack but retreated as it entered the golden radiance and its form began to burn.
I focused on maintaining the spell and said, “Okay, slowly now. I can’t do this all day, but it should give us a little while.”
Kjara sheathed her blades and took out her bow. Aiming for our wraith friend’s material bind point in the next room.
Her first arrow failed to get through the screen of undead trogs and the second met the same fate.
My mana was draining quickly from the spell, but it was doing its job.
*** Congratulations! You have gained a better understanding of the Beacon of Life spell! Rank 2 Achieved! ***
“Fuck this,” she said and swapped the bow for her swords and charged past me, hugging the edge of the aura as she cut through the trog undead like they were made of paper.
It was an amazing thing to behold and I found myself captivated by the sheer grace with which she wielded her blades. And the way her armor seemed to hug her body in all the right places.
The aura dimmed for a second and I quickly shifted my gaze back to our enemies.
Kjara glanced back at me with a knowing look and then cut down the remaining trog undead between us and the room.
We moved through the door and headed directly towards the hanging corpse as the wraith fell on us in a last-ditch attempt at self-preservation.
Its health began to drop, and it screamed in agony as it braved the burning light of my aura to try and get at me.
I used my shield to ward off the blows from its remaining hand, but the effort was making it hard to maintain my concentration.
My mana was almost out as well so I reached into my pouch for a mana potion. The combination of activities was too much, and my concentration was broken, and my spell collapsed.
Kjara pressed forward and leapt over the piles of burned and mutilated trogs littering the floor, coming to rest before the staked body.
With a quick slash, her swords swept out and separated the hanging corpse’s head from its shoulders.
The wraith shrieked and exploded in a flash green flames crashed into us.
*** Your party has released the tormented soul of the Wraith! You gain 2 Divine Favor! ***
I regained my senses and launched myself to my feet, throwing off a trog that had landed on top of me.
Kjara was still on the ground against the wall. Her health bar was critically low, and she had the incapacitated icon floating next to it as well.
Some of the trog undead were still active, but getting my partner back up was my top priority. I drew my spear and cleared the trogs closest to where she lay, giving myself the time I needed to cast a Cu
re Wounds spell on her.
The incapacitated icon began to fade as she slowly regained consciousness.
My mana was out. I focused on defense but still took several minor wounds as the sheer number of remaining undead began to overwhelm me.
My health was down to twenty percent when Kjara finally shook off the debuff and rejoined the battle.
We fought our way back to the tunnel, cutting our way through the undead and when we reached the tunnel, I was finally able to drink my biggest mana potion.
The undead were cramming into the tunnel opening like sardines, and that mana potion had raised my pool high enough that I had an idea.
“Ready to finish this?” I asked, and Kjara answered with an emphatic “YES!”, so without further ado I cast Beacon of Life again and began to press forward.
The undead were packed in so tightly that they couldn’t move away as I advanced, their flesh burning and tuning to dust as each step brought them closer and closer to the center of the spell where the holy flame was the most intense.
Kjara’s swords aided to the devastation, cutting through the undead frogmen with every step, and before long all that was left of the miniature horde were piles of dust and scraps of charred trog flesh.
*** Quest Complete – Cleanse the Sewer! ***
*** Your party has gained 500xp! ***
*** You have gained reputation with the Temple of Heru-et! ***
*** You have gained reputation with the Merchants of Sehkem! ***
*** You have gained 5 Divine Favor! ***
We collapsed to the ground, exhausted physically and mentally. We sat together against the wall, breathing hard, our stamina’s both nearly depleted. I shrank and tucked away my spear once again and she sheathed her swords as we sat in silence.
“I think we need a rake to loot this room,” I said, breaking down into exhausted laughter, losing it even more when Kjara joined in with a surprising snort.
...
Chapter 32
When we arrived back at the Plucky Goose Maeve intercepted us in the doorway and after one sniff gave me a look that would have made any mother proud.
She was a bit gentler with Kjara as she ushered us into the bathing room. There were two tubs this time and I started to object but the Madam was having none of it.
The tubs were both full of hot water with a small table set near each with towels and toiletries.
I looked to Kjara and she seemed just as uneasy with the situation as I was. “How do you want to do this? I can look away until you’re in the tub and then you do the same? I promise not to peek,” I said.
She gave me a smile. “I believe you. Yes. Please turn away and I'll get in the tub first.”
I turned away and used my character sheet to keep my eyes from wandering, going through my current stats and skills and taking stock of the number of free points I had.
It was still a challenge. Ever since meeting Kimiko in person something had changed in the way I felt about her.
I had always enjoyed her presence as a friend, but lately there was something else. I really liked her and hoped that maybe there might be something there worth pursuing.
But who was I kidding? She’d seen me in the flesh, and she was definitely out of my league. Both physically, and socially. Hell, her family was one of the wealthiest on the planet.
I was rescued from my brooding by Kjara's voice. “Okay, it’s safe to look now.”
I turned around and saw that she was submerged in one of the tubs, the surface of the water covered by a layer of bubbles, hiding her body from view. She had a towel wrapped around her head, covering her eyes. “Your turn.”
I stripped off my armor and clothes down to the undergarments and washed it all in a bucket off to the side. She must have been confused by the sound because she unwrapped her head and looked over to where I was working. “What are you doing?” she asked.
I looked at her and then down at my barely clad form and blushed a bright red. “Cleaning my gear? If you wash all the grit off yourself first and then have to wash off your stuff, you’ll just have to wash yourself again, so this way only one bath is needed.”
She cursed and I laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll clean your stuff too. You didn’t know the process.” I walked across the room, feeling her eyes on me and blushing again, hearing her giggle.
“I’m sorry Kheph, you’re just so cute when you blush,” she said, causing another round of redness.
I grabbed her things and cleaned them as well, finally getting everything sorted. I glanced back at her, making sure she had reapplied her blindfold and then settled into my own tub, only removing the undergarments when I was submerged. I washed them out and set them to the side to dry, and then cleaned myself.
The warm water was relaxing, and I found myself dozing off, the water drawing out all of the stress from my muscles and leaving me in a blissful haze.
I must have fallen asleep again because the next thing I knew there was a banging at the door. “Ye two done yer washin’ in there?” Maeve called from the hallway. “Some o’ the girls need to wash up fer the evening.”
I looked away as Kjara wrapped herself in a towel, gathered her things and headed out of the room and then followed.
Maeve gave me a nudge and a wink, and I sighed. The proprietress definitely had a fixation on matchmaking. “The walls be soundproof lad, so you two enjoy yer evenin’!” she said before laughing and ducking into the bathing room to ready it for her ladies.
I waited a couple minutes, giving Kjara a chance to finish dressing and then knocked softly.
She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, her hair still dripping. “All done! Meet you down in the common room for dinner?” she asked.
“Sounds like a plan. I could go for a nice bite to eat,” I answered. She gave me a smile and a kiss on the cheek and then headed downstairs.
I smiled and touched the spot where she had kissed me as I stepped into the room. My mind still dwelling on that small showing of affection while I got dressed and strapped on my armor.
The common room was almost completely full when I arrived. Kjara was seated at a table near the bar and waved me over when she saw me enter the room.
She’d already ordered drinks for the both of us. “Haven’t seen this many people in here at once before,” she said as I sat down.
Maeve piped in from behind me, “That’s 'cause yer never ‘ere during the lunchtime rush lass. We may trade mainly in desserts, if ye know what I mean, but we do ‘ave to make a livin’ durin’ the day as well."
She put our drinks on the table and said, "What'll ye have? We’ve got a pot a stew bubblin’ away, or we can fix ye something special fer a couple more coins if ye want.”
Remembering the shepherd’s pie I had on my first night here made my mouth water, but before I could order the front door banged open and an out of breath guardsman rushed in.
All eyes were immediately drawn to the new arrival who gathered himself and belted out his proclamation, “Attention all citizens! The city of Sehkem is under attack from an unknown force from the sea! All able bodied citizens are hereby called to arms to defend our city from the invaders!”
Not leaving any room for questions or objections, the guard rushed out of the room, leaving silence in his wake.
Almost immediately my screen was filled with an an announcement.
*** A WORLD EVENT (FROM THE DEEP) HAS BEGUN! ***
*** CALL TO ARMS – SEHKEM! ***
*** Quest Received: Defend the City! ***
***Assist in the defense of the city of Sehkem from the forces of the deep! ***
*** Reward: xp, reputation with all Sehkem factions, Divine Favor. ***
*** Penalty for Not Participating: loss of reputation with all Sehkem Factions, criminal status in the Saa Empire, Loss of Favor with the Saa Pantheon. ***
…
Chapter 33
The common room erupted into chaos; patrons scrambling for the exits, leav
ing so quickly the coins they left to pay for their meals were still settling on the table by the time they reached the door.
Maeve sent the rest of the women up to their rooms to begin their own preparations.
Kjara looked to Maeve and asked, “You going to be okay?”
“Aye lass, ‘tis not our first battle. The girls’ll pack up and be ready to evacuate if it be needed. Else they’ll help with the wounded,” she answered with a small smile. “May even lose a few girls when this is all over.”
“They’ll be that close to the fighting?” I asked, and she laughed.
“Nay lad. But one or two may end up catching a husband or wife! Nothing like nursing someone back to 'ealth to kindle a fire in the ‘eart.”
We bid Maeve goodbye and left the Goose, heading north without a second thought. Fleeing from a potential fight was in neither of our natures.
There were a few points on the way where the streets got crowded, making going north a challenge. The civilians from both the docks and visitors district were all streaming south towards the more fortified sections of the city.
We reached the gates leading to the docks amidst a strange mix of order and chaos. The constant stream of people continued to move through the gates from the docks while to either side of the road, city guardsmen directed the flow, keeping things moving smoothly.
Clad in bronze plated leather armor, each guard was equipped with a spear, gladius, and a round shield bearing the radiant sun symbol of the Saa Empire.
Ranging in level from five to seven, the guards seemed oddly calm in the face of an unknown invading force.
Ranks of additional city guards were in position on the walls above, facing outwards towards the sea. Mingling with the normal melee troops were archers, and several mages, but surprisingly I didn’t see any priests.
Kjara spotted an officer with a more ornate set of armor near the gates so we headed his way.
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