A sense of dread washed over Kaelem. The first thing he noticed upon entering the hall was a figure seated at the far end. It sat motionless on a large iron throne, rusted with age. The throne was elevated on a platform, as if it were meant for a king who looked down upon his subjects.

Lifeless goblin bodies were strewn across the floor below the platform, positioned as if they had once worshiped the monstrosity upon it. Although the darkness obscured it, Kaelem could tell the figure was some sort of skeletal being. Clad in black-painted steel plate armor, it had horns made of bone protruding from either side of its helmet and a dark fur mantle that hung from it's shoulders.

The group approached cautiously, their footsteps echoing in the vast cavern. As they drew closer, it became clear that the unsettling wailing was emanating from the throne, a chilling sound that seemed to scrape against their nerves.

Annara scanned the room, nodding toward alchemical tables and stone beds that looked as though they had been used for horrific experiments on goblins. Rusted medical instruments lay scattered, abandoned and stained.

Each member of the group was on high alert, with Vex having already set up a protective barrier around them in preparation for the inevitable battle. When they finally drew close enough to see the creature clearly, all of them froze in shock.

It was a true abomination - a decayed warrior encased in rusted armor that had fused to its rotting flesh. Its eye sockets were empty, a voidless abyss that stared into their souls whether it was looking directly at them or not. Old, yellowed bones poked through patches of decomposing flesh, as if the creature had walked among the living centuries ago. Its gaping maw was exposed, and the absence of a lower jaw left it looking perpetually unhinged.

But most disturbing was what it held in its left hand - a severed head, gripping it by the hair, its mouth open in a silent scream. This head was the source of the wailing, its lifeless eyes following the party with a chilling, dead stare. Kaelem felt a strange resonance with the head, as though an unnatural presence within it called to the darkness inside him, causing his power to pulse like a heartbeat.

The grotesque sight repulsed Kaelem, and the overwhelming stench of rot and decay nearly overpowered him - even for a native of Ashbarrow.

“Stay together,” Olrik's steady voice brought Kaelem back to reality. “This isn’t your typical undead.”

At that moment, the wailing stopped, and the group tensed. Olrik raised his warhammer, readying himself, as Rod nocked an arrow, his bow drawn.

The undead creature raised the necromancer’s head, which began muttering incantations in a hideous, vile language, words and syllables forming wet with saliva.

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Rod acted quickly, releasing an arrow straight into one of its eye sockets. The arrow lodged in place, but the creature didn’t flinch, entirely unaffected. The party’s morale dropped as they realized this was no ordinary undead.

“A Death Knight!” Vex called out. “We need to separate it from the head - it’s feeding on its magic.”

As the head completed its incantation, dark tendrils seeped from it, spilling onto the floor to form shadows that slithered toward the group. The shadows shot up from the ground, erupting in spikes that aimed to impale the nearest of them.

Rod and Annara dodged, though one of the spikes pierced Annara’s thigh, drawing a sharp cry of pain from her.

Olrik plowed through his set of spikes, smashing them aside with his warhammer as Kaelem narrowly rolled out of harm’s way. When he recovered, he noticed Vex casting a spell, leaving her open to the shadows bearing down on her.

Remembering Selkor’s shielding spell, Kaelem leaped into action. He mimicked Selkor’s warding runes, his bracer’s glyphs glowing fiercely. He hadn’t practiced the spell before, nor had Selkor taught him the full incantation, but he’d seen it often enough. Unknowingly casting a spell beyond his capacity, he felt his body strain, needing more power.

That’s when he sensed the dark energy within him, bubbling up. With all his might, he took just enough of the power to fuel the spell, hearing faint whispers that grew louder as he tapped into the darkness. They tempted him to delve deeper, to let it help him. But he clenched his jaw with resolve, channeling only what he needed to protect Vex.

The shadow lunged at Vex, however as it did, it collided with a shimmering barrier. The force deflected the shadow, shattering it on impact, splintering into dark fragments. Kaelem stood with his hand raised, the spell circle still faintly glowing around him - his timing couldn’t have been closer.

With her opening, Vex raised her hands and channeled her light magic. A massive bow of golden light appeared in her grasp, resembling unfurled wings. She drew back a giant, ballista-like arrow, and with a forceful release, it shot forward, blindingly fast for its size.

The Death Knight let out a gravelly roar, a sound like crushed stone grinding together. It raised the necromancer’s head, which spat out a green-tinged mote of flame.

The golden arrow split the flames and smashed into the Death Knight, hurling it back against the wall above the throne, where it embedded itself in the stone with a resounding crash. The golden arrow shattered into fragments, leaving the Death Knight pinned in a cratered wall.

Kaelem dropped to one knee, clutching his chest, his magic nearly drained.

“Is… is it over?” Rod asked, his voice laced with fatigue.

The group exhaled, relief washing over them. Vex rushed to Annara, casting a healing spell on her wound as Olrik looked over them with a hint of pride. “I think- ”

Before he could finish, a rattling sound echoed through the cavern. The Death Knight’s bones began to tremble, then, impossibly, they started to knit back together. The creature’s body reformed, clattering as it dropped to the floor in a grotesque heap before rising again. The sight of it reassembling, its bones and armor snapping back into place, filled a pit in Kaelem’s stomach with sheer horror.

Annara was injured, and Kaelem was nearly out of magic. They weren’t ready to face this monster again.