The others gathered around the opening Anna discovered, each one staring into the darkness for a moment before looking back up.
“Can you see anything?” Voekeer asked.
“Yeah, it’s another set of stairs, but they look rough,” Anna replied.
“Rough?” Voekeer asked.
“Like it was quickly carved out and not dressed or anything,” Anna replied.
Voekeer gave her a look.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing, just move the sarcophagus,” he replied.
“Alright,” Anna said.
She sheathed her sword, stepped to the edge of the opening, curled her toes over the opening, crouched down and put her hands on the side of the sarcophagus, and gave it a hard shove. It slid about ten feet away from the opening and revealed the staircase beneath.
“Lass, ya overdid it,” Thokri said.
“It was lighter than I expected,” Anna replied.
“Did you just say the giant stone box was light?” Lyreen asked.
“No, I said it was lighter than I expected,” Anna replied.
Lyreen just shook her head and looked down into the opening in the floor.
“I take it back. This is worse than the sewer,” she said.
“Pay’s better though,” Thokri replied.
“Not by much,” Lyreen said.
“Bah!” Thokri replied.
“I’ll go check it out myself if you all want to stay up here,” Anna said.
“No way! Stink or no stink, I’m not letting you out of my sight again!” Lyreen replied.
“But you already have. I mean, you don’t follow me to the shitter or anything,” Anna said.
“That’s because she doesn’t want to die,” Elaine replied.
“Hey, that cleared up after a few days of eating good food,” Anna said.
“It’s still not worth the risk, child,” Barika replied.
“Can we just go into the stinking hole already?!” Lyreen asked.
Anna smirked at the flustered mage and drew her sword before starting down the steps.
The stone was rough and cool beneath her feet. As she descended, death mana grew thick in the air, and once she reached the bottom of the stairs, it was as thick as morning fog. The stench was as thick as the fog, so much so she could taste the corruption in the air. She stopped breathing and spat to spare herself and then stepped into the small room that lay at the foot of the stairs.
Directly ahead of her was an altar. It was covered with a black cloth and had a statue of a skeletal figure holding a broken set of scales in the center. Towards the rear, in front of the statue, was an offering bowl that was filled with unidentifiable lumps of decomposing flesh.
On either side of the bowl were candlesticks that were made from darkened bone and covered in a pale waxy substance. The bowl was the source of the death mana. It billowed out like smoke from a censer. Sickly green light from Elaine’s lantern suddenly filled the small space as her friends walked up behind her.
“Is that what I think it is?” Elaine asked.
“If you think it’s an alter to Uxlon, then you’d be right,” Barika replied.
“Uxlon? I’ve never heard that name before,” Anna said.
“That’s not surprising. He’s the god of the undead, and his worship is banned in the empire and most other places,” Barika replied.
“God of the undead? That sounds creepy as fuck,” Anna said.
Barika laughed.
“Oh child, that’s an understatement,” she replied.
She walked over to the altar and looked it over.
“Anna, crush this statue to dust. Lyreen, burn the altar with the hottest fire you can conjure, and Elaine, draw off as much of the death mana as you can so that I can purify it,” she said.
Anna picked up the statue and snapped it in half. An otherworldly wailing erupted from the broken halves, and a black mist poured out and swirled around her head.
“OH, GREAT GODDESS! I BESEECH THEE! BLESS THIS PLACE AND DRIVE THE EVIL BACK TO WHENCE IT CAME!” Barika shouted.
She slammed her staff into the ground, and a pulse of golden light shot out, filling the room. The broken statue in her hands evaporated, as did the altar, the offering bowl, and its vile contents. The light faded, and Barika sagged down, leaning heavily on her staff. Elaine threw her arm around the older woman’s waist to steady her.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Are you alright?” Elaine asked.
“Yes, child, thank you,” Barika replied.
“What just happened?” Anna asked.
“That statue was cursed, and had anyone else broken it, their soul would have been carried away straight to the undead god’s domain,” Barika replied.
“Oh, okay. So, why did everything disappear like that?” Anna asked.
“I asked the goddess to consecrate this place, and because she is far more powerful than Uxlon and opposes everything he stands for, anything blessed by him was destroyed,” Barika replied.
Anna glanced around the room. It was now spotless and warm with a slight floral scent hanging in the air.
“He blessed the crud?” Anna asked.
“Uxlon is also the god of corruption and decay, so yes, he blessed the crud,” Barika replied.
“So, he’s the god of nasty shit then?” Anna asked.
“Yes, that’s one way to put it,” Barika replied.
Anna looked around the room one more time before heading for the stairs. Her friends followed after, and they climbed back up to the upper level where they finished searching the large chamber.
“Hey, come look at this!” Lyreen said.
The rest of the party walked over to see what she had found. The elf was crouched behind one of the ruined sarcophagi. She gestured to a pile of refuse that contained all manner of broken useless junk. Lyreen reached down, picked up a large emerald, and held it up for everyone to see.
“This pile is filled with all kinds of broken jewelry and other stuff!” she said.
Elaine snorted.
“What?” Lyreen asked.
Elaine pointed at the pile.
“That’s where the ghouls were taking a shit,” she said.
Lyreen got a horrified look on her face and dropped the emerald. The rest of the party broke into laughter, causing Lyreen to flush red.
“It’s not funny!” she said.
This only caused everyone to laugh even harder, much to the elf’s annoyance. Their laughter didn’t last long, and soon they went back to searching. Anna lingered at the pile for a moment before taking the ring she’d found in the ashes of the ghast out of her belt pouch and tossing it onto the pile and walking away.
There. The family will find it there, and I don’t have to talk to them.
She joined up with her friends at the entrance of the room before they walked back into the hallway and made their way to the stairs, stopping to check each of the locked chambers. After making sure they were undisturbed, the party headed back up the stairs and closed and locked the gate to the lower level before walking out of the crypt and back into the old cemetery.
The sun was high in the sky, or rather, as high as it got in what passed for the middle of winter in this part of the world. Its position indicated that it was just past noon, meaning they had spent the entire morning in the crypt.
I bet everyone is hungry. Too bad we have to take the key back to the Reinharts and tell them what we found before we can go back to the guild. Oh well, at least we’re just meeting with the steward and not the lord himself. That would take forever!
The mortuary guards let them pass without question when they reached the gate, and they headed towards the nearest bridge that led to the inner ring.
I still want to know why a cemetery filled with nobles' crypts is in the part of the city where commoners live.
Unfortunately, no one had been able to answer that particular question, so she assumed it was just going to be another thing she’d have to wonder about.
They crossed over the bridge and into the inner ring where they made their way to the northeastern section where the Reinhart manor was located.
There wasn’t much in the way of foot traffic anywhere in the inner ring, so they made it to the northeastern section quickly. They turned down one of the side streets that led towards the inner canal which separated the inner ring from the central island.
The imperial capital was like most human cities she’d visited with the homes growing more extravagant the closer to the center. The finest homes were right next to the canal which happened to be where the Reinhart manor was located.
A tall fence made from spiked iron bars surrounded the property. They walked up to the gate where two guards in gleaming armor stood at attention.
“Afternoon. We are here to give Mr. Yolm back the crypt key and make our report,” Voekeer said.
He took out his guild badge and held it out for the guards to see. The man took a look at it and nodded.
“He’s expecting you,” the guard said.
He turned around, opened the gate, and then gestured for them to enter. They walked past the gate and down the short path that led to the door. Voekeer knocked. A young man answered the door and gestured for them to come inside. They walked inside, and he closed the door and then led them to a small waiting room next to the entrance.
“Mr. Yolm will be with you shortly,” he said before leaving.
It was the same room where they had met with the steward that morning. The room was well furnished and filled with chairs as well as a large table in the center. They walked over to the table and sat down. They didn’t have to wait long before the door opened again and Mr. Yolm walked in.
He was an older man with graying hair and dark eyes that swept the room. He had a stern look on his face, the same one he’d had when they’d met him. It was almost as if he was disgusted by their presence though she couldn’t be sure. They stood up, and he walked over to the table and shook Voekeer’s hand before gesturing for them to sit back down. They did, and then he joined them, sitting in the chair closest to Voekeer.
“Now then, what did you find down there?” he asked.
“A pack of ghouls being led by a ghast,” Voekeer replied.
The steward lost his composure and a look that was somewhere between shock and fear grew on his face.
“But, that’s not possible! The crypt is cleansed and blessed twice a year!” he said.
“There is a chamber underneath the far room on the lower level. It was covered by the central sarcophagus. We found an altar to Uxlon that had an offering on it. We believe that’s where the undead came from,” Voekeer replied.
The steward paled.
“Did you destroy it?” he asked.
“Yes, our priestess called on the great goddess who cleansed the entire chamber,” Voekeer replied.
“Thank the goddess for her mercy. I’ll make sure and send an appropriate offering to her temple,” he said.
He glanced over at Barika who nodded before looking back towards Voekeer.
“Now then, what was the state of the lower level?” he asked.
“It’s in poor shape. Most of the sarcophagi have been damaged, and the remains were consumed by the undead,” Voekeer replied.
“By the gods!” Mr. Yolm said.
He pursed his lips and then sighed.
“If news of this were to get out, it would cause quite a scandal,” he added.
“I understand,” Voekeer replied.
“Good, now then, may I have the contract?” Mr. Yolm asked.
“Of course,” Voekeer replied.
He took the contract from his belt pouch and handed it to the steward who pulled a strange pointed rod from his pocket. He pressed a gem embedded in the side of the rod and it sparkled with mana. Ink welled up on the point.
A magic quill! I want one!
Mr. Yolm wrote a few things on the contract and then signed it before pushing it back to Voekeer.
“I’ve increased the payout. Think of it as an incentive to remain discreet,” he said.
Voekeer took the contract and looked it over. His eyes went wide for a moment before he rolled it up and put it back in his belt pouch.
“We won’t tell a soul,” he replied.
“Good, now then, let me show you out,” Mr. Yolm said.
He stood up and so did they before following him out of the waiting room and to the entry door. He opened it and gestured for them to leave, so they walked out of the manor, and he closed the door behind them.
“So, how much more did we get, lad?” Thokri asked as they walked to the gate.
“Let’s just say, we’re going to be drinking the good stuff tonight,” Voekeer replied.