Chapter 17: Ruin Wraith Wrath
(say that five times fast)
Ding!
[Your ‘Identify’ Proficiency Has Increased]
Skull icons, Chastity thought, frowning. It doesn’t take an expert in video game logic or fantasy worlds to realize that means bad news.
Pushing aside her fear, Chastity clutched the stone sword and stared down the two apparitions. The threatening wraiths stood (okay, hovered) between her and her companion, who sounded like he was in danger.
“I don’t even need to detect evil,” Chastity said through clenched jaws. “This chantry was meant to be a sacred place, and you abominations have befouled it!”
Of course, as soon as she said the words ‘detect evil’ aloud, the ability activated.
[Detect Evil]
[-5 Focus Points]
Oops, thought Chastity. There has to be a better way to control these abilities!
[Evil Creatures Detected]
[Category: Undead]
Like I said, it was kinda obvious!
Ding!
[Your ‘Detect Evil’ Proficiency Has Increased]
Ignoring the alert, Chastity swung the improvised weapon at the nearest wraith. To her dismay, the blade sailed right through its incorporeal form. In return, the wraith lunged at her, ethereal hands reaching straight through her chainmail.
“Gah!” Chastity gasped, feeling an impossibly deep and painful chill penetrate her heart. Dropping one hand from the sword’s hilt, she clutched at her chest. Was she having a heart attack?
[-6 Life Points]
She staggered back, and the wraiths immediately closed the distance. The second wraith reached out, wailing miserably. It raked its grasping hand through her torso, dealing more invisible damage.
[-5 Life Points]
“Agggh!” Chastity yelled. She swung the stone sword a second time and got the same result.
She couldn’t fight these things, not out here, outnumbered in the cold and dark of a moonless night. And if these undead fiends were too strong for her, then Charlie Cucumber was no match at all.
I have to get to Charlie–before it’s too late!
Chastity jumped to one side and rolled, the snow cushioning her landing. She got up and sprinted into the chantry. The wraiths turned and pursued her, their mournful expressions distorting in a gust of wind that swept across the ruins.
Inside she saw Charlie. He was cowering near the fire, holding up his traveling pack in defense as another wraith menaced him. Thankfully he seemed to be unharmed–for now.
“Charlie! Keep your distance! Don’t let it–agh–touch you!”
Chastity winced as the pain in her chest lingered from the previous attack. She circled around the ghastly creature and stood in front of the halfling, offering her own body as a shield.
“I’m s-scared,” Charlie stammered.
“It’s okay. Stay behind me,” she ordered.
At the same time, she dropped the sword and grabbed her bundle of javelins, pulling one free and flinging it at her foe with all her strength.
The javelin flew free and true–straight through the wraith and burying itself in the distant wall of the building.
“It’s no use. Nothing I do can hurt them!”
Now all three wraiths were inside the ruins and closing in on the two travelers. Chastity eyed the openings in the partially collapsed walls. Maybe if she distracted the wraiths, Charlie could attempt an escape. It was not the end she had imagined for herself…
As long as there is life, there is hope, Chastity counseled herself. That’s right–as long as there is life, there is still hope! Don’t give up.
Seconds passed. The ghoulish, hollow faces of the wraiths drifted back and forth, snarling, their bodies sometimes intermixing then separating again. But oddly, they came no closer.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Aha!
“Charlie–the fire! I don’t think they like the fire!”
Charlie lowered his pack, glancing at the threatening spirits.
“The fire?”
“Maybe it's the light, or the heat. Look–they won’t come any closer. As long as we stay close to the fire we might be safe!” Chastity grinned.
The apparitions wailed with scorn, groping impotently at their would-be victims from some boundary they would not cross.
“Grab the largest sticks you can safely reach. We can make torches. If we keep the fire burning, maybe we can keep them at bay all night. Once the sun rises, something tells me they won’t be bothering us.”
“All night?!” Charlie asked incredulously. “You mean we need to stay here and fend them off the whole night long? Sounds like the worst night ever!”
“I can think of worse,” she retorted.
Chastity dug in her pack and removed the extra linen garment the halflings had fashioned for her, ripping it into strips. She wrapped the fabric around the end of a large piece of wood and fastened it with the leather strap used to bundle her javelins.
“Do you have any fuel? Oil? Animal fat, anything like that?” Chastity asked.
Charlie dug into his pack, and Chastity heard various jars clanking together.
“I have a small vial of repju oil I got from the traveling merchant.”
“Repju?”
“Comes from up north. Thought about trying it out for one of my recipes. But… oh, nevermind! Left it back at the village! Ha ha.”
Chastity exhaled in exasperation and decided to dip the makeshift torch into the flame anyway. It would burn, but maybe not for very long. She passed it to Charlie and looked around for materials to craft a second.
“If any of those things come closer, swipe at them!” she urged.
Charlie swallowed a lump in his throat but nodded. The swirling phantoms drifted back and forth, angry, but did not come any nearer.
“As I said, as long as we can keep this fire burning, we should be–”
At that moment, a powerful gust of icy wind rushed through the openings of the ruined building, extinguishing the campfire.
Oh no!
At once the wraiths rushed in. Chastity grabbed the stone sword off the ground and backed away. The weapon was useless against them, but holding it felt better than nothing. Charlie’s torch still burned, but the wraiths could easily get within swiping distance.
They retreated quickly, never taking their eyes from the approaching wraiths, and soon their backs were against the wall. This part of the building might have once been akin to an apse, or even sacristy. Chastity saw no holes large enough to fit through, no windows or doors. They were hemmed in, with only the tip of Charlie’s torch delaying imminent doom.
Chastity’s boot hit something hard that gave off a sharp pinging sound, like she had struck something made of glass. In fact, she had nearly tripped over the object jutting out beneath a pile of rubble and splintered wood. It wasn’t just a piece of debris.
On instinct, Chastity stooped down and picked it up. It was a bottle. Beneath a layer of dirt, dark blue glass caught the light of the torch and glinted. The wraiths snarled and drew ever closer.
“What are you looking at?” Charlie demanded. “They’re readying to kill us!”
Chastity brushed the dirt away and held the bottle up to the light. There was writing on it, or there had been, in Common Speech too. But it was hard to make out.
“Identify!”
[Identify]
[-1 Focus Point]
Holy Water
Holy water! Chastity’s heart, still stinging, nearly skipped a beat.
Ding!
[Your ‘Identify’ Proficiency Has Increased]
[Ability Level Advancement Ready]
This just might work!
Chastity unstoppered the bottle and poured half the contents over the stone blade. Instantly the sword began to glow with a faint blue light. The wraiths shrieked and recoiled at the sight.
“Woah!” Charlie exclaimed.
Chastity rose to her full 5’11 stature, gripping the handle of the glowing weapon with both hands.
“Return to whatever darkness you sprang from!” she uttered, swinging the sword down.
The nearest wraith exploded in a flash of light, its form dispersing like black smoke. The other wraiths drew back, perhaps uncertain of what to do. Were they capable of rational thought? Strategic planning? Or did they act on vile instinct alone?
Chastity leapt forward and slashed diagonally, the heavy blade bursting a second ruin wraith in as many moments.
“Be gone!” the Paladin shouted.
The final wraith withdrew with a ghoulish cry, seeking dark corners and deepest shadows to seep into and escape. But Chastity would not let that happen. She ran after the fleeing creature and swung the sword sideways like a baseball bat, looking to decapitate the spirit if possible. Like the others, it evaporated in a violent burst when the glowing blade struck it.
The mighty swing also brought the sword crashing into the heavy stone wall behind. The sword cracked and shattered, pieces of the unknown statue’s blade falling to the floor. Gradually, the blue light faded from the crumbled stone.
[Equipment Lost - Stone Sword (Improvised Weapon)]
Trembling from exertion and adrenaline, Chastity let the useless hilt fall from her hands. The chantry, and the world around her, were wholly silent in the absence of the undead menace. That is, except for the multiple pinging notifications.
Ding!
[You Have Gained Experience]
Ding!
[Level Up!]
[You Have Reached Level 2]
[Your Maximum Life Points Have Increased to 30]
[Your Maximum Focus Points Have Increased to 15]
Ding!
[Level Up!]
[You Have Reached Level 3]
[Your Maximum Life Points Have Increased to 40]
[Your Maximum Focus Points Have Increased to 20]
Ding!
[You Have 2 Ability Points to Spend]