I was interested to find out what had Raven so excited and by the looks I could see on the other's faces, they were interested as well. We followed her into a small side room that looked as if it could have been a supervisor/jailor’s office. There was a window but it had been partially blocked by a fallen chimney which conveniently provided enough cover that we wouldn’t be seen from outside, but it also gave us an unimpeded view to the mine entrance. The road and mine cart tracks from town carried on towards the mine, they both led into the mine which looked like the gigantic gaping maw of a sleeping monster. The two undead Sand Wyrms were stationed either side of it like tusks protruding from the corners of its mouth. I shuddered at the imagery my mind was conjuring and asked my brain to stop giving me nightmare fuel.
“What happening?” Harold gestured.
“Wait…wait…there.” Raven pointed.
A small group of undead were pacing backwards and forwards on the road. They looked different from the normal groups of skeletons patrolling the ruins, however as I looked closer I could see colour from inside of the mass of skeletons that was completely out of place. In the middle of the group was a medium size person wearing long black robes with a white trim, the robes were open slightly to reveal a garish orange and teal t-shirt. I couldn’t see anything else of them as the group of skeletons kept moving about too much.
The second I saw the robes I knew this was the necromancer and his group of elite skeletons. I'd remembered them at the fight with the Goblin King, they had held off a charge from The Lonely Hearts and even managed to push them back. I had to fight the urge to charge out there and cut my way through the undead to reach the necromancer, I felt my class willing me to throw caution to the wind but with practised ease I suppressed the urge. I ruled my class, my class didn't rule me. I could see Harold holding himself back as well as he almost took a step towards the group, his gauntlet creaking as his hand gripped his sword hilt.
"We strike now." Raven gestured. "Sun go soon."
I looked up into the evening sky, she was right, the sun had already dipped below the lip of the bowl and the shadows were only getting longer and darker.
"What about Sand Wyrm?" Taylor asked.
"Can you make wall again?" Raven asked.
"Not time and too far." Taylor said, shaking their head.
"If you sure, I can taunt everything." Harold suggested.
"No, that suicide." Clair said.
I paced a little thinking over the problem. We needed some way to distract the Sand Wyrms, if they joined a fight in any way, we were done for. If they were living we could count on their self preservation but as undead, they would attack with reckless abandon. Harold's idea had merit, since he would be far away and they would have to move to attack as they didn't have any ranged capabilities. The problem was that it would also attract every undead in Spring Falls to Harold, I wasn't sure if we could execute the necromancer before he was swarmed and that was not a risk I wanted to take with a friend. There was something there though, maybe if we combined the taunt with another plan. I felt like I was on the verge of a eureka moment when Taylor poked me in the ribs, I squirmed and lost my train of thought.
"Can you make spell stones?" Taylor gestured.
"No, last one exploded." I shook my head. I was useless at traditional magic and modern magic theory, all of my magic and abilities were all instinctual rather than learned or studied.
"Shit." Taylor gestured and I smiled at the fact they had taken the time to gesture their curse.
"What he doing?" Claire asked.
I looked to where Clair was pointing, her hand was extended towards the necromancer pack of skeletons. Except that in the dying light I could see a white light emanating from the middle of the pack. I activated Mana Sense and the impression I got was not good at all, I couldn’t tell what it was exactly but the brilliant white light shone like an exploding star.
"Not good, we need to move. NOW!" I gestured.
I had seen a light like that before not that long ago. The City Crystal we had given to the leaders of Soyalls had a similar glow except it hadn't been that strong. Whatever the item the necromancer had it would be incredibly bad to let them do anything with it. I took 2 steps forwards before I felt a tugging on my arm and turned to see Clair looking at me in confusion.
"What is it?"
"A lot of bottled experience." I said out loud, it was a risk but I didn't want any miscommunication, this was a big problem.
"We strike while distracted." Raven gestured again. “Make wall to block view and distract Sand Wyrm.”
"Yes but we need plan." Harold agreed. “Wall not plan.”
"I will walk next to necromancer and kill. If dead, undead will drop dead too." I gestured.
I didn't wait for anyone to answer as I activated Man on the Job and Right Clothes for the Job again. I didn't activate the aura yet but I made sure everything was hiding me properly before I climbed the rubble out of the building. I felt my robes catch in the wind and billow out to the left like laundry on a washing line. I heard a soft scraping behind me and turned to see the familiar shimmer of Raven's stealth skill, it appeared that she agreed with me.
"Wait till you see the skeletons' movement change before activating any assassination skills, they might detect it before I get close." I whispered softly to her.
"Understood." She whispered back.
I calmly walked up the road, letting my shroud billow out, I focused on making sure that it was shifting perception away from me. I felt a few gazes land on me but whoever or whatever was looking in my direction soon looked away even though I kept walking towards the necromancer. I started taking long and deep breaths to calm down my still frayed nerves and centre myself. I was going to have to walk through a pack of elite skeletons who would cut me open in seconds if they found me. I paused for a second wondering why I had just walked out of the room rather than insisting we made a plan faster. I cursed myself for being so impatient but there was not much I could do to change it now. I took the time to actually inspect the skeletons I was going to have to sneak past.
Name: Elite Skeleton Swordsman
Level 47
Type: Rare
Description: A skeleton created by the necromancer. This simple monster is capable of complex commands and is one of the stronger undead warrior variants.
Health: 4000/4000
Mana: 1000/1000
Effects: Vulnerable to holy damage, Vulnerable to fire damage. Immune to curses. Immune to death magic.
*Note, as this creature is recognised by your Soul Reaper class as an adversary, all combat restrictions are removed from all class abilities (excluding disabled abilities or skills) and you will be able to gain xp from defeating this monster.
I gulped, they were a lot higher level than I had expected. The skeletons wore mismatched breastplates, chainmail or ringmail shirts, they didn’t wear any padding underneath it but as undead, I realised, pinching wouldn’t really affect them or their movements. They all had a wide variety of weapons that looked like they were taken from their slain foes. Each skeleton had something slightly different but they were all held at the ready. The skeletons were all moving perfectly in time with each other, it was a simple backwards and forwards motion, but occasionally there was a side step when the necromancer overbalanced. The real problem was that the movements were completely random and there was no sign for when the skeletons would pivot or step normally. I wanted to use Etheric Step to cut out the possibility of something bumping into me but the potential for something detecting the spatial distortion was too high.
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No, this had to be done the old fashioned way.
I psyched myself up convincing myself that it was possible and that I would be able to get into the correct movements. I shook my limbs out and took a few measured steps to get into the same rhythm as the skeletons. Once I had the timing right I took a few extra steps to stand in front of the closest one. I turned sideways so as not to catch my robes on any weapons or armour that the skeletons were wearing, I took a deep breath and stepped in between the first two skeletons.
The smell hit me and I struggled not to wretch, it was like standing in my father's old composting pile after getting a fresh batch from one of the animal farmers. While all undead smelled, these ones had such a strong smell to go with them that my eyes watered a bit from the fumes. The skeletons didn’t notice me as I took a step backwards to keep in time with them, I quickly looked at the face of the closest one and realised that they were old skeletons, just bones with no meat left on them. The armour smelt bad but if it had been looted from a recent corpse that would explain it. I took an extra 2 steps forwards, as the skeletons turned around and took 1 large step towards me. My heart sped up a little from the unexpected movement, it felt like my heart was a desperate miner trying to break its way through my chest. I managed to get back in time with the skeletons and side stepped as the skeletons stumbled a little, it kinda felt like we were dancing, except the rules for the dance were that if either participant noticed each other, they would have to fight to the death.
I took another 2 steps forwards and passed another pair of elite swordsmen, then I stumbled a little as all of the skeletons stopped dead still. I thought I had been heard or spotted and was waiting for the dog pile of ravenous corpses to commence, when they started to move again I almost jumped a foot in the air but I just about managed to get my movements back in time with them. My heart hammered away in my chest trying its best to break through my ribs, my breathing had become uneven and it took a few seconds, and a few steps, for it to even out. When I was ready again I took a few more steps forward and passed a pair of elite swordsmen. The next two looked slightly different from the others and it took me a few more seconds that I wanted before I realised what was different. They didn't carry any visible weapons and wore robes instead of armour. I took a step backwards in time with the skeletons and cast Identification on them.
Name: Elite Skeleton Mage
Level 45
Type: Rare
Description: A skeleton created by the necromancer. This simple monster is capable of spell casting and following complex commands as well as leading Lesser undead.
Health: 1000/1000
Mana: 4000/4000
Effects: Vulnerable to holy damage, Vulnerable to fire damage. Immune to curses. Immune to death magic. Immune to poison.
*Note, as this creature is recognised by your Soul Reaper class as an adversary, all combat restrictions are removed from all class abilities (excluding disabled abilities or skills) and you will be able to gain xp from defeating this monster.
The elite skeleton mages wore dark brown robes that covered most of their body, their face and body were the same as the others except that, now I was looking closer, I saw they held purple orbs in their right hands. It took me more than a few seconds to realise that they were arcane focus for their magic. I silently gulped as I realised how strong a group of undead this was, if it was a straight fight then I was not sure if we would be able to win. Realising that the longer I stood examining the mages, the greater chance I had of being caught. I took a few more quick steps to move deeper into the group of undead, I’m not sure how long it took to get through with all the forwards and backwards steps but eventually I exited out of the undead and into a small open area, in which the necromancer paced. I fired my Identification spell at them
Name: Simon 'The Necromancer' Gales
Class: Necromancer level 45
Health: 2460/3000
Mana: 3643/8000
Stamina: 1156/2000
*Note, as this creature is recognised by your Soul Reaper class as an adversary, all combat restrictions are removed from all class abilities (excluding disabled abilities or skills) and you will be able to gain xp from defeating this monster.
Simon paced up and down the small space while fiddling with a white orb in his right hand, the orb was glowing a strong white light that was hard to look at. Instead I looked at Simon a little more closely. The necromancer looked to be in their late 40s, they had green hair that looked greasy and uncut under their small hood. They were slightly taller than me however from the way their robes hung on them, Simon was not a healthy person, the sleeves of the robes seemed to be a little too baggy and the waistline a little too filled out. Simon didn’t look like a threat, aside from the army of undead that were surrounding him, he almost looked like someone who would spend all of their time deep in research or reading. I took a few seconds to inspect the orb while I waited for Raven to start her part of the plan.
Item: Dungeon Upgrade Core
Rarity: Mythical
Weight: 1lb
Description: This core contains the distilled experience for a Dungeon and can be used to upgrade an existing dungeon, take control of an existing dungeon or start a new dungeon.
Requirements: None
My eyes opened wide as I realised what he was trying to do, I brought my scythe up ready with an overhead chop, this couldn’t wait for the plan anymore. I brought my scythe down in an attempt to sever the hand holding the orb but as I did so, Simon twirled on the spot and I missed my scythe bounced off the ground with an audible clang. Instantly every skeleton turned to face me as Man on the Job deactivated. I gulped and was about to strike again when Raven appeared and activated one of her assassination skills. One second the necromancer was alone in the open space with me, then Raven was standing with him, delivering a nasty stab to his kidneys. Simon screamed in pain as the knife tore through his flesh with its serrated edges. I watched her twist the dagger and slice its way out before plunging in again before she faded into the shadows.
I had recovered from my missed strike and attacked again, my scythe descended like a meteor trying to sever Simon's wrist from the Dungeon Upgrade Core, as my blade parted hand from arm a thich ice walls sprang up around me and intercepted the first few spells the closest skeleton mages fired at me. I heard the whomps and cracks of fireballs and lightning hitting the wall. I ignored everything that was going on and dove for the Dungeon Upgrade Core that was still held in the severed hand. Somehow, Simon had the presence of mind to reach out with his last hand to grab for the core as well. His hand moved faster than mine and grabbed onto the end of the severed wrist faster than I could, however he must have grabbed it wrong as the wrist's grip slackened and the Dungeon Upgrade Core rolled out of the fingers and fell to the ground.
A few things happened over the next seconds, first there was the sound of tinkling glass as the core hit the ground and exploded letting the condensed experience flow away. I and, I would assume, all the skeletons, the necromancer and Raven, if she were still nearby, were all flung away from the impact site. I clipped an ice wall before I landed hard on the ground and rolled, my head bounced off the ground a few times causing me to see stars for a few seconds. I coughed and sputtered when I came to a stop, I could feel the mana in the air, it made it feel like we were standing in a thick cloud that was displacing all of the air. It took me a few seconds but when I stood up and saw that most of the skeletons were getting to their feet as well, I also saw someone who wasn’t a skeleton or Raven getting to their feet.
I used Etheric Step to move over to the person, we needed to get away from the undead before they turned on us. When I reappeared I saw that it was a skinny human with green hair, I realised that it was Simon, the necromancer and not Raven. At the same time they realised I wasn't one of their minions and pulled out a dagger from somewhere on their body and thrust it towards me. I sidestepped the awkward but surprisingly fast thrust and lashed out with my fist. I connected with their left temple and he went down like a sack of potatoes. Simon collapsed to his knees with his head bowed, stunned but not unconscious. The skeletons were all roaring in outrage and I could hear some charging at me from where they were thrown. I took a few seconds to line up my strike and swung my scythe at him to cut off his head and finish this damned quest.
A pulse of mana from behind me made me stagger forwards and my attack missed completely. Simon thrust his dagger at me again and this time it connected. I felt the pain bloom in my gut as the dagger went in all the way up to the hilt, I grabbed his wrist to stop him from twisting the blade and causing even more damage. I could see the smile on Simon’s face as he looked down at the dagger in my gut, he looked back up at me and his smile turned to a frown as my forehead connected with his nose. I felt warmth splatter on my face as his nose made an extremely satisfying crunching sound followed by his cry of pain. My fist then connected with his sternum driving all the wind out of his lungs. Simon let go of the dagger in shock and gasped like a fish out of water as I pulled the dagger out of my chest and threw it at him. I didn't have the same expertise that Raven did, so that dagger bounced off his head hilt first. I heard the pounding feet get louder as the skeletons came ever closer to me, I raised up my scythe and was about to bring it down on Simon’s exposed neck when I felt myself being dragged backwards.
I turned expecting to see a few skeletons pulling me away from their creator, insead my eyes went massive as I saw a large blue and white orb pulsing and growing behind me. I wasn't sure what I was looking at but it felt like it was pulling me towards itself. I watched as the closest skeletons were sucked into it and disappeared, their jaws clacked in what I assumed would have been a scream, if they could scream. I began to panic and tried to use Etheric Step to get away but a notification appeared in my vision.
The ability Etheric Step has failed.
My panic was upgraded into fear as the strange force also began to lift me off the ground, towards the floating orb. I looked back to Simon and saw a smug look on his face, in a fit of rage I swung my scythe at him in an attempt to quickly kill him but I was tackled by one of the skeletal swordsmen. We both flew backwards and upwards as the suction became too much for me to escape from, I could do nothing but watch as the smirk changed to horror as Simon also started to be dragged towards the floating orb as well.
“FFFFUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK YYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!” I screamed at him as I was dragged away into the mysterious orb.