IMPETITUS AND VERENE

The Templar and the mage thief entered the cemetery with their weapons drawn. In front of the two was pure unorganized chaos. Their raiding party consisted of dozens of young and newly favored adventurers who were reckless. They charged with abandonment in the secure knowledge that death was not final. Mages would fire off their powers without fear of the magical powers overcoming them. The graveyard was awash with arcane energies from fire, ice, and lightning. The two walked past a mage that had overdone it. The mage was shivering on the ground, babbling to themselves. The gift of magic, if unchecked, will destroy the mind and, eventually, the body. Verene shook her head in disgust as the young mage gasped and died. Their body disappearing.

"In our time, we were less reckless," the mage thief observed.

"We had faith, but there was still no guarantee our gods would allow us to come back." the Templar said in agreement.

"These fools believe that they are immortal."

"I don't see the Chalice or the goblins," Impetitus growled as he grew tired of scanning the cemetery.

"If they are here, they will show up," Verene said and motioned to the dozens of remaining adventurers, searching every nook and cranny for treasure.

The fighting continued to go on around them. Some adventurers left the group to go and loot the numerous mausoleums and catacombs. "I never made it this far in!" one young adventurer said in glee to another as they carried off sacks filled with gems and coins.

"I think I found a magic sword!" A rogue-looking adventurer exclaimed. They held up a dark blade, and the rogue screamed in shock as he could not drop it.

"It's cursed!" another observed.

The cleric that had organized the raid was in front of the mage thief and the Templar. The holy man prayed to Caeriggnas, lord of the Blue Flame, and called down divine retribution on a pack of ghouls destroying them instantly as their bodies withered in the holy flames.

"Ghouls this early in?" Verene asked.

Impetitus knelt to examine one of the crumbled remains of the creature as the holy blue flames faded away. The creature's yellow eyes faded to black, and Impetitus pointed this out to Verene.

"Shadow illusion magic to make the zombies look like ghouls," she observed.

"Why do that?" Impetitus asked.

The two looked up as the cleric continued to unleash holy magic.

"How often can a cleric call upon their god for power?" The mage thief wondered.

"It depends on how skilled they are. When we, templars and clerics, use our holy magic, it is a gift from our deity. We are granted the powers in order for us to carry out their holy vision. We must learn to use them accordingly."

"So it's limited?"

"It is spiritually exhausting to overuse it," Impetitus answered.

Verene and Impetitus continued to walk on. The two experienced adventurers would cut down any zombie that came too close to them. They worked well and were conserving their energies. The cleric was beginning to breathe hard and calling down fewer holy flames.

"I think we are being tricked into wasting our resources early," Verene finally observed.

"This cemetery, this area, is beneath us," Impetitus said, dismissing her concern.

It was becoming clear that the deeper they went on, the less spellcasting occurred. The mages and clerics were spending their energies. It was then a booming voice roared ahead of them.

"Fools! You can not defeat me, Chalal Von Issen, in my lair!" A shadowy figure cried and entered a giant mausoleum. It was dark inside, where echoes of devious laughter could be heard.

"Brave adventurers! That is where we must go to rid the world once and for all of the evil scoundrel. There will be much glory and riches. Come!" The cleric yelled.

The mage thief and the Templar were ushered into the narrow catacombs with the rest of the squad. The catacombs were interconnected passageways that twisted throughout. Groups of adventurers would take different paths and then meet up later on. Their sacks are filled with loot. They met little resistance from zombies and an occasional ghoul. For the most part, it looked like they might do well. Until the first set of traps went off. Nearly a dozen adventurer bodies lay broken on the ground and faded away. The traps ranged from a spiked pit to a slashing scythe. They finally made it to a large chamber. One of the mages illuminated the sizeable domed ceiling room. The walls were lined with sacarphouses, and the ground was covered with dirt. The place was dank and smelled of decay. There were heavy stone coffins that blocked their path. Impetitus immediately recognized the tactical danger they were in. They were in a choke point!

"Get down," he growled to Verene. The two ducked just as a volley of arrows and fire magic rained down on the tightly packed group of adventurers. The raiding party pressed forward between the large stone coffins and overturned furniture. The first ranks were chopped down by a scythe trap, and the second ranks were pounced upon by ghouls. The cleric's powers were greatly depleted, and they could only grant holy armor enhancements to their front-line fighters. That was enough to push through the ghouls. Verene was the only real caster left, but she used her spells for herself.

By the time they made it out of the choke point and into the open space of the large chamber, only nine of the more seasoned fighter-type adventurers, the cleric, Impetitus, and Verene, remained. Before them was a large, heavily armored orc flanked by three of the goblins, they were searching for. In front of them was a row of four hungry ghouls.

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"The goblins!" Verene exclaimed in joy that they had finally found them.

The two sides charged each other. Walls of ice sprung into existence, dividing up the adventurers into smaller groups where they were cut down by the ghouls. Impetitus growled as he raised his hand to dispel the ice magic. When the walls faded from existence, he saw the dying body of the cleric. Standing over the holy man was the tiny demonic-looking goblin. It hissed at Impetitus and then vanished behind a stone coffin. Verene had faded out of sight, but the Templar knew she was shadow walking. The Templar summoned his holy barrier to protect him from range spells and arrows. He marched toward the orc and the goblins. Two ghouls pounced on him, which he dispatched with two clean slices from his two-handed blade.

The orc and the goblin warrior were engaged in a fierce battle with a few fighter-type adventurers. The goblin stood in front, deflecting and countering with his shield. The orc, wielding a massive bladed spear, would utilize his attacks to cover the goblin's exposed flank. The two worked well together. The number of ghouls and adventurers dwindled down. Verene, hard to see in the shadows, dispatched the last two ghouls with her blade.

Arrows and fire magic smacked harmlessly against his holy barrier as the Templar made his way toward the orc and the goblins. One adventurer shrieked as two arrows thudded into their side. The orc howled in pain as Verene materialized next to him. She had stabbed him with her sword, which shimmered with shadow magic. Her blade was able to phase through the orc's armor and wound him. The orc countered with a mighty swing of his broad-bladed spear. His weapon passed right through her as she phased with her magic, and she re-materialized a moment later. But the orc had released his grip and punched her solidly in her face with a gauntleted hand. The mage thief stumbled back, her face bloodied, and she howled in rage.

Impetitus moved to engage the goblin archer with braided hair and the white-haired goblin mage. The archer fired arrows that bounced harmlessly off his holy barrier and armor plates. The mage attempted to encase his legs with ice. Impetitus's will and resistance were too strong, and the spell failed. The mage threw fire and raised ice walls. Impetitus dispelled the walls, and the fire splashed harmlessly against his holy barrier. The Templar rushed to attack the mage, and his blade was deflected by the archer, who switched to their longsword. The Templar was larger, but the braided hair goblin was faster. The mage summoned up a wall and retreated further back into the chamber.

The goblin warrior rapidly blocked two incoming attacks with their shield. They moved it with ease and lashed out with their weapon just as fast. Their axe caught one fighter-type adventurer hard in the temple. The fighter stumbled back and collapsed. The orc was moving slower due to the wound to their side, and Verene was relentless with her assault. The orc, even wounded, was still agile. He was aware of Verene's magical blade, and instead of blocking it, he dodged her attacks. The large orc twirled his spear and swung to attack the mage thief. Verene shadow melded out of the way and was out of sight. The adventurer moved in to strike the distracted orc but was deflected by the goblin's shield. The orc pivoted and swung his polearm back over the goblin's head, hitting the adventurer.

Impetitus had to step back as the last adventurer's body soared past him. The goblin with the braided hair rushed in immediately, and the Templar barely had a moment to deflect her furious attacks. Their blades danced back and forth. In one exchange, the goblin evaded a slice from the Templar, and the human's side was exposed for a moment. In that second, the goblin snaked her sword and stabbed it between the plates. The sharp edge pierced the mail armor and delivered a painful wound to the holy warrior. Gritting his teeth, Impetitus snatched his hand out and grabbed the goblin's wrist tightly before they could retreat. The Templar slammed the pommel of his sword hard into the goblin's head, dropping her dazed to the ground. Impetitus swung his blade around, gripped it in two hands, and prepared to thrust it down for a finishing blow when the small demonic goblin snuck out from hiding and sliced a deep gash to the back of his knees, where he was less protected by his armor. The templer stumbled and spun their blade to attack the pale-eyed goblin.

The small goblin hopped away and held a sword and dagger before them. The shield warrior rushed in to attack. Quick-footed despite his injuries, the Templar was a skilled swordsman. He repositioned himself to deflect the goblin's axe attack and countered instantly. Impetitus' longsword thudded on the goblin's shield as it retreated. The smaller demonic goblin made to attack the Templar's exposed flank but stopped in shock as Verene's blade stabbed through them. The mage thief had popped out of their magical shadows and pulled their blade from the goblin. The creature fell to the ground face forward. Verene was struck repeatedly by searing hot fire darts that scorched her armor. The mage thief stumbled back, seriously injured. She made a quick hand gesture and was engulfed in shadows.

The orc limped and swung his polearm at Impetitus, and the holy warrior ducked the heavy attack. The goblin warrior came in quickly and hooked the Templar's armored foot with their axe while driving their shield's edge into his chest. Impetitus fell backward. He immediately rolled away just in time as the blade from the orc's polearm slammed into the ground with a thunderous clang. The Templar rose to their feet but couldn't move. The mage's ice spell had entrapped his legs. Impetitus could barely parry the goblin's next attack but was struck hard by the orc's heavy weapon. The holy warrior coughed up blood as he was knocked out of the ice spell several meters onto his heels. The goblin warrior and orc rushed in.

Traveling through shadows as fast as the wind, Verene rushed in to attack the mage. The white-haired goblin could not defend himself as they were cut down by her deft sword stroke. Blood spurted from their face and chest as the mage thief's sword ripped through their padded armor. Verene fell to her knees in exhaustion from her wounds and magical exertions.

The goblin warrior, sensing victory, over-committed on his next attack. He underestimated Impetitus, who, in a burst of speed that defied their injuries, dodged and snaked their blade past the goblin's shield and landed a heavy gash. The goblin stumbled back, nursing their deep wound, as the orc limped by and landed a glancing blow throwing the Templar off balance.

"By the Blue Flame!" Impetitus said through gritted teeth and unleashed his powerful nova attack.

This used his remaining power as a burst of blue flame shot outwards from him. The fire engulfed the orc and the goblin warrior and knocked them off their feet. They lay twitching and charred on the ground. The Templar took a deep breath. The victory was theirs! He thought to himself.

"Where is the Chalice?" He growled as he walked over to the severely burned goblin warrior.

"Ahem," a soft voice said, catching the Templar's attention.

Looking up, Impetitus saw a pale bald figure in dark shadowy robes. Fear gripped him in his chest. He had forgotten the necromancer! The boss of the old cemetery. In the dark mage's bony grip was Verene's neck. The Templar looked around and saw in horror that he was alone. The necromancer completed an incantation, and Verene screamed as she grew pale and her body shriveled into a ghastly corpse. The mage thief's body disappeared, leaving her gear behind.

"That was an impressive show. Did you forget about me?" The necromancer asked.

The Templar's jaw was set with determination. The holy warrior gripped his blade in two hands and charged. The necromancer raised his right hand into the air, and bursting from the ground were dozens of skeletal grasping claws that tripped and trapped the Templar. Twirling his left hand, the necromancer summoned a swirling shadowy specter that formed into the shape of a roaring dragon. The giant ghost swirled around the room and then came crashing down onto the trapped Impetitus and engulfed him with the icy chill of the dead. The Templar screamed. When the ghost faded away, only the Templar's armor and sword remained.