I was thankful that it was obvious where the road continued, the Skeletal Minotaur had done a number on the ground and the whole area now didn't look like a road, instead it looked like it had been subject to multiple meteor strike spells. The horses took a while to cross the area of uneven and in some places unstable ground, once they crossed it our journey continued once more as we followed the road that led deeper into Wyrm territory. Interestingly the purple Small Winged Wyrm stayed with us, for a while it flew in lazy circles above us but after a while it descended and landed in Clair's lap as she rode next to me. Now that it was closer I could get a look at it and I took the time to properly inspect it.

The Wyrm was 3 feet long and its body looked exactly like a normal snake with a bird-like beak, it was long and thin with a distended belly in the middle. Its wings were leathery things that seemed extremely fragile and almost see through, I was slightly amazed that they worked as wings and were not torn to shreds by the rock sand that was blasting us. Each wing had a little claw on the end with what looked like wickedly sharp talons, I thought back to when the Winged Wyrms swooped down on the skeletons, they'd used their claws to crush bones. The wings looked like fragile sheets of thin leather, I could see the blood vessels criss-crossing through the skin. The Wyrm turned to look at me with its odd reptilian eyes and its forked tongue flicked out and linked its left eye, it then yawned showing me row after row of small serrated teeth.

While I knew and understood that this creature would probably attempt to kill and eat me if it wasn't for Clair, it didn't stop it from being that ugly cute that made you question if you wanted to cuddle it or punch it in the face. When it climbed up and curled around Clair's neck like a scarf, I knew I'd happily trade the demon horse for a friendly one.

The road continued to weave through the rocky terrain, only once did we have to leave the path but that was due to a fallen rock pillar blocking the way. Raven had scouted around and found a suitable path but if it wasn't for her I don't think we would have managed to get back to the road. After the fight the wind had picked up for a while drowning out anything but a shout, as the day progressed though, we found larger stone pillars and platforms that crested windbreaks that the horses were thankful for and reluctant to leave.

I was still on high alert and was burning through the remainder of my mana to send out pulses of both Detect Evil and Detect Life, nothing was registering with either of the spells but I kept it up making sure we wouldn't be ambushed. I was a little worried that we hadn't come across any other Wyrms other than the Small Winged Wyrm, they had to be out there somewhere and we had made a lot of noise fighting the minotaur. My worry grew as we travelled further and further into Wyrm territory without seeing any form of life.

As day turned into afternoon and the sun started going down, while it hadn't exactly been warm during the day, the temperature dropping was very noticeable the later it got. We started looking for somewhere to make camp for the night, but I had a feeling that wherever we picked it wasn't going to be a comfortable night's sleep, however we would need to sleep. Fighting the Necromancer and/or his undead minions would require the energy and focus that came with a night's rest, without it things would go sideways quickly.

We came across a large section of rock that hugged the side of the road and created a poor wind break, which meant that instead of having wind assault us on all sides, it was only going to be coming for 3 sides. It was Clair that noticed the small cave entrance set in the side of the wall, or at least it was the Small Winged Wyrm that showed her, we all went over to investigate and found that part of the entrance was blocked by a boulder that had fallen down. Harold noticed a small plaque that was partially covered, after a little bit of effort we were able to shift the rock slightly so we could read the plaque. It named the cave as Traveller's Respite and also said that it was 1 day's worth of travel or 10 miles in a direct line to Spring Falls.

Raven volunteered to scout the cave to see if it was still vacant, there weren't any objections so while she disappeared into the cave we all stood around trying to not get too cold in the chilly evening gale. Less than a minute later Raven's head popped out of the hole beaming, she waved us forwards and one by one we entered the cave, Clair stayed outside with the animals for the moment.

As we entered we realised why it was called Traveller's Respite, the wind stopped almost completely once inside and while it was cool, it was nowhere near as cold as outside. Just to the left of the entrance was an alcove with what looked like a rusted metal fence and a stone trough, I guessed it was meant to be for animals. Taylor ducked outside the cave to tell Clair about it and they started bringing the horses inside one at a time. I turned my attention to the rest of the cave, I knew that my participation would end up having the monsters either attack me or attempt to run away. The cave was quite large, maybe 25 feet by 40 feet, in the middle was a large fire pit with some stones around it, above there was a hole that went upwards but disappeared around a turn. At the far end of the cave was a raised area of flat stone, while it didn't initially seem to have a purpose, I had a feeling that this was some sort of sleeping area with how large it was.

I was still worried about the lack of living creatures we had seen, I cast both Detect Evil and Detect Life but nothing registered for either, and while we trusted Raven, both Harold and I checked for traps or signs that a creature was using the cave. Thankfully there were no signs of creatures using the cave or traps of any sort, with a relieved sigh we all agreed that it would be best to camp here for the night out of the brutal wind.

I unpacked our cooking equipment and food supplied from my bag of holding and placed them next to the fire pit before moving over to the raised area and setting up the tent. Taylor started cooking dinner while Clair tended to the horses, Harold and Raven joined me and helped set up the tent. We worked in silence for a while letting ourselves become absorbed in the task and trying to get used to not being blasted by the wind constantly, the semi-silence was almost as deafening as the roar of the wind.

"I'm claiming the trophy." Raven stated, making me jump at the sudden sound.

"You what?" I asked in confusion when I calmed my racing heart a little.

"I killed the minotaur so it counts as my kill, it was a level 50 monster."

"Everyone whittled it down, you didn't solo it." I said, shaking my head.

"I'm telling you I killed it." Raven complained, she held up her hand and the kill notification for the skeleton minotaur appeared, "I dealt the killing blow so the trophy should be mine."

"But we all have the same notification," Harold countered, holding up his hand showing the same notification, "by your logic the trophy is mine as well and since the trophy was bought with guild funds, anyone in the guild is eligible for it."

"But you didn't finish it off." Raven protested.

"It was a party kill," I interjected, "everyone got experience from it so it doesn't count towards the trophy, you made that rule Raven."

"But we always fight in a group, it's going to be impossible for me to kill something without anyone else participating in it." Raven protested. She turned on Harold, "Our guild only has the 5 of us in it and everyone else bowed out of the competition years ago."

"I have a non-combat class." I pointed out. "I don't usually get experience from kills."

"But…" She started to say but Harold interrupted her.

"You're right Raven, I am the guild leader and as the guild leader of The Wanderers I'm going to make an official ruling," Harold declared. "Everyone is eligible to participate in the competition but the Skeletal Minotaur is exempt from the trophy, we all received the kill notification and experience from it."

I could see that Raven was about to launch a counter argument but Taylor silenced her counter by announcing that food was ready. The smell of vegetables and something that smelled meaty made all of our stomach's grumble, so we decided to drop the conversation in favour of eating. Silence descended between us and the only sounds that could be heard was the wind outside of the cave, the crackling fire and our wooden cutlery klacking on the wooden bowls.

"I don't like how quiet it has been." I said after I finished my meal.

"It is worrying me as well." Clair admitted, "from what I know we should have encountered something more dangerous than just the Small Winged Wyrms." She said stroking the purple one curled up on her lap.

"We did come across the skeletons, I'd say that was more than the Small Winged Wyrms." Raven interjected.

"I don't count them as they were left by the necromancer." I said, shaking my head. "I was expecting a Wind Wyrm or a Trap Wyrm with all the cracks we've passed, I've even kept up my Detect Life spells and not come across anything."

"I did try using my ability Call of the Wilds after the fight but nothing responded, I was hoping for another Small Winged Wyrm to come out but I felt nothing." Clair shivered, "I've never had that before, something has always answered the call."

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"That brings up some bad questions." I said worriedly. "The skeletons were left by the necromancer, obviously, but does that mean the other creatures he's come across he's turned undead or did they flee the area?"

"That has some very worrying implications" Harold said frowning "I don't really want to face an undead Rock Wyrm."

"It doesn't change anything though." Raven said. "We still have to hunt down the necromancer and the bag is still pointing deeper into Wyrm Territory right?" Tylor checked the bag and nodded. "So then, even if we come across an undead Rock Wyrm, that's not our target, we can avoid it or run from it and still chase the necromancer."

"I just wish it was more than just us, I don't like the idea of fighting against an undead horde." I said.

"We aren't the only party given the quest." Harold said and I perked up.

"Really?" I said perking up, "so we are expecting back up?"

"Not quite," Harold said shaking his head, "there were 3 other parties that were given the quest but they were sent in other directions to check on the rest of the kingdom first and deliver some messages like we did at Soyalls. Only once they have delivered the messages will they join the hunt for the necromancer. Our message just happened to be closer than everyone else's. "

"Shit."

We lapsed back into silence again for a while, I sat there thinking about why the King had only sent 1 adventuring party to hunt down the necromancer. It seems stupid and a waste, the necromancer's skeletons had made up the bulk of the invasion and was arguably a bigger threat, however the kingdom hadn't thrown everything at hunting them down, only sending a token effort. I think I was done with the Kingdom after this quest, I'd try to convince the rest to join me in heading for a new country.

I was pulled from my thoughts by Raven as she pulled out a deck of cards. We all agreed to play some poker, using rocks instead of coins to gamble. It worked to some extent, I returned to the present rather than receding back into my thoughts, Taylor and Harold joined in but I could tell they were only playing half heartedly. Clair played a few rounds before ducking out to check on the horses. One by one we slowly dropped out and went inside the tent to get some sleep, Raven was the only one to stay up as she'd agreed to take the first guard shift.

My shift as guard was uneventful, I paced around the cave for a while double checking for secret entrances, traps and anything else I could think of, I even checked outside of the cave as well. I was still worried about the lack of creatures we'd come across so I had my Detect Life spell active constantly during my shift as well as Detect Evil but nothing had registered on it. After about an hour I decided to try some carving. I pulled out a half carved figure and was about to start working on it but as I was looking at it, I decided that I didn't like the way it was turning out. Annoyed, I tossed it into the fire and began carving a new piece of wood, the idea I had for the figure was going to be a dual wielding fighter. As the figure started to take shape I saw that it was going to be an elven woman holding a short sword and a parrying dagger, she was crouched and ready for an attack or to parry an incoming attack.

I didn't finish the figure before the end of my guard shift so I put it into my bag almost with my tools and laid down in my bed roll. My sleep was uneasy and not as restful as I wish it would have been, mainly due to it being filled with worries about fighting 50 foot long Skeletal Rock and Sand Wyrms.

Breakfast the next morning was a subdued affair again with everyone quietly eating boiled oats with a little bit of honey and some berries Clair had. Harold used this time to lay out the plan for the day while we could still hear each other and didn't need to rely on hand gestures.

"We continue on the road, if Luca can keep the Detect Evil spell going and Raven can keep her Detect Trap skill active we should be able to avoid anything too dangerous." We both nodded, "Clair, do you think your Small Winged Wyrm could scout for us?"

"She is called Sally, I think I could ask her to but I don't think we'd get any good information from her." Clair shook her head, "I asked her about the attack on the skeletons and what they were doing and she said something about attacking death, but it didn't make too much sense."

"That's fine, even if Sally gives us a crude warning, it's better than no warning." Harold said, and Clair nodded. "While the map doesn't have any roads or locations marked in Wyrm Territory, from what Luca has told us we should be near Spring Falls by sunset."

"I'm going off rumours and old hearsay so I wouldn't say that it is accurate." I warned him.

"I understand but it is more information than anything else we have." Harold said, shrugging.

"What is the plan when we get there?" Taylor asked.

"Assuming the bag still points in that direction. We observe the area, try to see if there is anything alive in there or any undead around. We don't need to cleanse the town or fight off a horde, just kill the necromancer. Once he is dead the skeletons should lose connection with the magic reanimating them and collapse."

"What if they're not there?" I asked

"Then we follow the bag to the necromancer." Raven stated.

I nodded and we set about clearing everything away, first into the bag was the tent along with everyone's sleeping kits, next was the cooking equipment after it had been cleaned with a spell from Taylor. Getting the horses out of the cave was a bit of a struggle since they didn't want to go back out into the wind, Clair spent some time talking to them quietly and reluctantly let her take them outside. My horse glared at me when I approached it but it didn't outright attack me, I didn't know what it was planning but I didn't like how easy it was to mount it.

We set off into the gale that hadn't let up since we first entered the Wyrm territory, there were no clouds in the sky but that was only due to the winds pushing them south to the kingdom. We continued to follow the road as it wound its way through the stone pillars and around the ravines which only seemed to get larger. As we pushed deeper into Wyrm territory the sand slowly started to disappear but instead it was replaced with more ravines, hidden cliff ledges and stone pillars. We decided not to veer off the road as the hidden cliff ledges and ravines seemed to become more prevalent.

I spent most of the day pulsing Detect Life and Detect Evil however, nothing ever registered, not a single thing. I started to get more and more concerned as the day progressed, I even drank a few of the mana potion to make sure that I was ready for a fight and could use Etheric Step. A few hours before sunset my Detect Evil spell picked up a signature and I bolted upright in my saddle, I gestured wildly and managed to bring everyone to a stop. Harold and Taylor were almost as relieved as I was that I had finally detected something. We dismounted and while Clair took charge of the horses the rest of us moved forwards to see what I had detected.

We moved slowly up the road keeping low to avoid being spotted, Raven led us to a large rock that she half climbed so she could peek over. On the other side of the rock was a large bowl in the landscape, the edges looked partially natural but also like something had been demolishing sections to make the inside inaccessible. The road we were on continued down into the bowl through one of the few points that was still accessible. Nestled in the bowl, like a fat baby bird in a nest was what remained of Spring Falls. The town looked like it had originally been built from stone and wood but either from time, or more likely, from the weather, at least half the buildings had already collapsed and the other half was just about to.

The road led into the centre of the town, I traced the path it took and somewhere in town the road gained a set of what looked like train tracks, they both led out the other side of town and into a huge cave entrance cut into the side of the bowl. Mixed among the buildings and roaming up and down the street were a few packs of undead, at this distance I couldn't make out what type they were and Identification wouldn't reach that far without some sort of telescope. What made me grimace were the two undead Sand Wyrms that guarded the mine entrance. The Sand Wyrms both looked to be about 40 feet long and their heads ended in gigantic maws filled with lots and lots of sharp, pointy teeth. It must have only been a few days since they had been killed as I could see sections of their bodies were torn up and in a few places their insides hung out like gruesome party streamers.

"Shit." Taylor cursed, "problem." They gestured.

We all looked over to see that they were holding up the bag that contained our homing beacon and it was pointing straight towards the ruins of Spring Falls. We stared dumfounded at the bag then to the ruin of Spring Falls, then the undead Sand Wyrms before looking back at the bag to double check. It was as I feared, the necromancer had somehow managed to get their hands on 2 beasts that could be used to destroy an entire city. I was partially glad that they didn't have these during the invasion, but I was also dismayed as we might have to face them with just the 5 of us instead of an army of hundreds of thousands.

On further inspection the road into Spring Falls was only guarded by a few low level skeletons but they were in clear sight of all the others. They were obviously left there as sacrifices to be used as an early warning system. The movements of the other undead seemed to be erratic and from the time I spent watching them I couldn't see any patterns for patrols. I figured that fighting our way through would be possible if we needed to but we would be swarmed by everything, including the Sand Wyrms the second the alarm was raised. I, and I think everyone else, would prefer not having to fight a horde of undead again, once was more than enough. Sneaking our way through was going to be a difficult task as well, the edges of the bowl were clearly visible to all of the town and there were only a few places that gave access to the bottom of the bowl, all of which had the undead standing around guarding them. If our stealth skills failed then we would be spotted and swarmed almost instantly.

Harold made a few gestures and we moved away from the rock and back back to Clair, she was rubbing Raven's horse's nose when we came back. Her Small Winged Wyrm was on top of her head with its wing stretched out looking like it was about to take off, it wiggled as we approached and Clair turned to see us.

"More skeletons?" Clair gestured.

"Worse." Taylor replied, shaking her head.

"Worse?"

"2 undead Sand Wyrms." Harold gestured, I saw some of the colour drain out of Clair's face as she registered the hand gesture.

"The necromancer?" Clair gestured, I could see a bit of hope in her eyes.

"Near the Wyrms," Taylor gestured, "maybe."

"Maybe?"

Taylor held up the bag which pointed back towards Spring Falls. We all stood there for a minute in silence to let Clair comprehend what we meant and I watched the rest of the colour drain from her face.

"We need plan." Harold gestured. "Charge is no good. Too open for sneak. Too many undead."

"What if I walk?" I gestured.

I could use my abilities to pass by the undead without being noticed, just like I had done with the Skeletal Minotaur and dozens of other times in various dungeons in the past.

"No, too risky, too many undead." Harold dismissed. "Can purple distract skeletons?"

"Yes but only simple commands." Clair advised.

Harold tapped his chin for a few minutes in his signature 'I'm Thinking' pose. I decided that I would have to carve a figurine of him like this since he did it so often.

"Okay, here plan." Harold gestured.