The party of adventurers walked up the hill, looking at the sight before them. In the dark hollow below was an old abandoned cemetery. All the graves were destroyed by time; no one looked after them for a very, very long time. This is not surprising; the group has long passed the border of the civilized world. Then there were only ruins, now ruled by monsters. And now they were going to kill one of them.
- So this is the place? – Lia asked with interest, looking around the cemetery and the dark, dilapidated temple that stood in the middle of the depression, through the holes of which the entrance to the crypt was visible. - How cool! Creepy place. And how great it is that we received a personal quest!
- Great, great...- Robert muttered, thoughtfully looking around the area. – It just seems to me that all this is not without reason, and the respected paladins are not telling us something...
- Why do you have to talk in tongues? – Klein answered, without looking at the faces of his comrades. - We were given a task, we must complete it, that’s all. Let's go. I hope there will be skeletons.
- Oh! There will definitely be a lot of them! – The elf commented seriously. - This is a cemetery. People are buried there. And they have bones. And skeletons are made of bones. Stupid.
Klein sighed heavily, rolled his eyes, and went downstairs first.
When the entire squad passed through the gates of the cemetery, it became obvious to absolutely everyone that this was a restless cemetery, where the dead, instead of sleeping in eternal sleep, rose from their graves and absorbed the flesh and blood of the living. Now they were still lying in their graves, waiting for the moment. Klein looked at the ground and closed his eyes, listening.
A cube rattled in the young man’s head, falling on the edge with the number “16”, and Klein, who passed the attentiveness test, heard the dead tossing and rustling in their graves, disturbed by the arrival of the living. The young man opened his eyes and said:
- They will rise when we go a little deeper. About three dozen. Judging by the sounds and aura, there are no hounds or more advanced undead here. I can’t say about their level, but there are definitely no particularly strong ones here, I would feel them.
- Clear. Then let's kill them before they get up. – Anya suggested, taking out a weapon.
- No. – Klein answered and calmly walked on, approaching the entrance to the temple.
- Klein, stop! They will rise! – Robert exclaimed, trying to stop the guy.
- That's what I'm waiting for.
Suddenly explosions were heard from all sides, and wet earth flew into the air in fountains. Dozens of armed skeletons rose from the ground, and, without giving the people a second, rushed towards them. Klein looked at his opponents, concentrated, and raised his hand.
- [Exorcise Undead]
Warm light poured from the paladin's palm in all directions. He passed through living beings as if they did not exist, but as soon as he touched the inanimate flesh of the rebel skeletons, an unholy aura began to break out, causing the dead bodies to move. The skeletons, illuminated by Klein's miracle, fell to the ground in a simple pile of bones; those who were further away felt an instinctive fear of the holy radiance, but without stopping, they rushed to its source, joining their comrades in a pile of bones.
The paladin exhaled, dispelling the spell. It required full concentration, and the young man had not yet fully mastered it. He looked around at his comrades and was the first to enter the temple. Lia caught up with him and said with respect:
- Wow! And it turns out you can do something! Who would have thought!
- Actually, I have always been useful! – The guy answered offendedly. - But these were simple opponents. Lesser undead. They have no mind, and are drawn to the light like moths, dooming themselves to death again. Although, perhaps this is what they really want... Peace.
- Well done, Klein. Good job. – The magician praised the paladin, and he nodded gratefully. - Let's go inside. If such opponents await us there, we’ll leave them to our paladin. However, we must kill the rest. Klein, don’t spend mana on anything other than [Exile Undead], only on [Healing] as a last resort. You will now be our main damage.
- Understood.
The adventurers entered the temple and descended into its underground part. Having discovered that there is a whole branched system of tunnels here. Apparently they were supposed to be used to save people in case of invasion. Well, in that case, they didn't save. Or perhaps they were already built by a monster who settled in a desecrated holy place.
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Klein couldn't help but feel depressed seeing what happened to the temple where light was worshiped. The party encountered two more groups of undead: one consisted of skeletons, like above, but more well-armed, and the second was mainly zombies. Neither one nor the other could resist their natural enemy. The holy light of the deity drove out any darkness, giving the poor dead long-awaited peace.
- Hehe, at this rate, it will be a simple country walk! – Lia exclaimed joyfully.
- You go to interesting places. – Vasily laughed.
- Well, there must be variety! Just walking through the forest and hunting only goblins, you can go crazy with boredom!
- This is all great, but I only have enough for two more of these spells. - Klein said, and Robert answered him:
- Fine. Then leave one application as a spare. We can defeat another group like this, then everyone will have to work hard, don’t relax!
- OK boss. - The archer responded. - But tell me, do you guys also hear this whisper?
- Oh! I - yes! – The elf answered proudly. – It’s such a vile, annoying and creepy voice in the back of your mind, right? It appeared from the moment I entered the crypt! We elves are quite sensitive to this, you know!
- I'm not sure that this is something to be proud of.
- What? – Klein was incomprehensibly surprised. - What do you mean? What whisper?
- Don’t you hear? – Anya grinned. – I knew that you were mediocre, but to be so insensitive! Ha!
- And I... I would also like not to hear him... - Isabella responded timidly. – I... I feel very uneasy about him. I just want to howl...
The discussion was interrupted by a new group of opponents who appeared around the bend. A large group of deathly pale people, staggering, but still extremely dangerous, was approaching the detachment.
- Well, Klein, come on. Shine! - The sorceress demanded.
- Wait a minute. – The paladin frowned. He didn't sense as much necrotic energy from these creatures as he had from the undead before. – [Inspection]
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Name: Michael Reiter. Farmer (47 years old)
Level: 3 Thrall: 49
Vitality: 34 + 27 + 3
Strength: 30 + 24 + 2
Agility: 8 + 6 + 8
Intelligence: 0
Wisdom: 0
Charisma: 0
Skills:
1) Life for the owner! (Damage dealt to the owner is transferred to this creature)
2) Subservience (Gives 5% of its characteristics to the owner)
3) Self-detonation (Explodes, causing damage to others. Spends 100% of health. The stronger the more health was sacrificed)
4) Part of a coven (Receives +3% to all characteristics for each allied thrall within a radius of 10 meters)
Titles:
1) Thrall (Deprived of his own mind. Receives 10% of the owner’s characteristics)
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Klein frowned deeper as he watched the pale creatures, clutching weapons in their hands, pour out one by one from the next room. As a result, the paladin was able to count twenty-three creatures. He said gloomily:
- These are not undead. These are people... Under the control of a monster. I can't drive them out. And they become stronger for everyone like themselves within a radius of ten meters...
- Clear. – Robert answered, instantly becoming focused. -Can we cure them?
- No chance. Unless the master abbot could. But not me. But it is not possible to bring them to the city...
- Understood. Lia - use acid. The fire here will be too dangerous, there are too many wooden elements around. We will suffocate in the smoke. Glen is in the vanguard. Klein, support him. Anya, don’t stick your head out too far, stay close to Klein, apparently there will be a battle of attrition here. Isabella, refrain from transforming, there is not enough room in these corridors for a bear. Vasily, support me from behind. And, God, someone shut that damn voice!
The adventurers took up fighting stances, creating a formation to protect those standing behind. They prepared for battle, standing in a narrow corridor full of rotten ancient paintings and benches. Ten meters away from the people, there were many thralls, brainlessly looking at the adventurers.
- Hey, why are these bastards standing? – The dwarf asked irritably, clutching his ax and shield. -Are they afraid of us, scum? They do it right.
- No, I don’t think... - Klein answered cautiously, but Glen abruptly interrupted him:
- Try it sometime! Muaha-ha-ha!
The dwarf's booming, cheerful laughter was interrupted by the simultaneous movement of dozens of brainless bodies. They opened their mouths and, as if imitating, began to laugh. Laughter surrounded the adventurers on all sides, confusing them. The laughter ended as suddenly as it began. After which dozens of Trells suddenly began to scream. They shouted some words, which boomed over each other, becoming stronger, and making it impossible to make out their meaning.
- Ah! – Lia cried out painfully, clutching her head. - This voice! The one that whispers from the very entrance!
Indeed, all the creatures in front of the adventurers screamed in the same voice, which did not belong to any of them. It was the voice of their master, controlling his slaves from a great distance.
- Lia! Beat them! Everyone, go to battle! – Robert shouted, clenching his teeth from a headache.
As if they had listened to the man, the monsters, without stopping screaming, ran towards the squad. With a battle cry, Glen jumped on the first of the crowd, plunging his ax up to the hilt into the creature's shoulder. In response, she delivered a blow, from which the dwarf covered himself with a shield, but the power was such that the halfling was thrown back several steps.
- Ha. These creatures don't feel pain. – Glen said angrily, looking at the enemy’s zero reaction to the wound of his enchanted ax. - What an abomination.
- To the side! – Lia shouted, raising her staff. – [Acid Flow]!
A powerful stream of toxic green liquid erupted from the sorceress's staff, corroding the first enemy it encountered. The two halves of the body, as if cut, fell to the floor, hissing and smoking. Lia directed the beam at the next target, and it suddenly trembled, turned, almost hitting Anya, and, attacking the wall, stopped.
- What?.. – Lia looked at her staff, puzzled. - This whisper... It's getting louder... It's not letting me concentrate!
- Well, - Robert commented, - it’s obviously not going to be as easy as we expected...