Clay wandered the streets of Jaskar. The purple gemstones illuminated the buildings as he passed, and caged fire danced with the shadows. He was on his way back to the hunter's guild.

While he walked, he thought of the Rephaim. The departed. He was one of them. At some point, he had died. And, Roland had found his soul.

Had Roland found his soul?

The cloaked figure might have played a role in killing him in the first place. Clay shoved his suspicions down in his thoughts. He didn't want to think like that. Roland had said he was his friend, and that he hoped that Clay would be his friend as well. The necromancer hadn't done anything to the golem to make him doubt the man.

He recognized the familiar building, the hunter's guild was just ahead.

For now, Clay decided to put aside his thoughts on the Rephaim and focus on his next mission. As he walked, he rested his hand on the pommel of his new sword. He'd be using it soon. He looked forward to seeing the weapon in action.

Clasping the door handle and turning, Clay entered the guild hall. He saw the familiar face of the young human woman, Mindy. She smiled at him as he passed by.

"How are you today, Clay?"

"I'm doing well. How are you, Mindy?"

"Good." She beamed.

Clay nodded as he walked into the dining hall. Several people cast him side-long looks as he made his way to the quest posters.

Standing before the wall, Clay scanned the fliers. Deciding that he wanted something easy, he looked over the D class assignments. And, then he saw it. Ghouls.

The book on necromancy mentioned ghouls. They were a lower tier of risen dead.

Clay wondered if there was a necromancer in Jaskar that was raising the dead. Could it be someone from the magister's guild?

Picking the flier from the wall, Clay brought it up to Mindy.

"Hi, Clay. Find something?" the woman asked with a friendly smile.

"Yes." Clay handed her the poster.

"Ghouls..." Mindy cringed. "Are you sure you want to deal with those? They're nasty."

"Yes." Clay was surprised by the woman's response.

"Okay. Let me show you on your map."

Clay pulled out his map and unfolded it.

"For this mission, you'll be going down into the catacombs. It'll be dark down there, so..." Mindy opened a drawer in her desk, "here."

She handed him a wand like the one Cassia had brought with them into the Manat family mines. The purple gemstone shone brightly in the guild hall.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Be careful down there. The dead are best left to their own," she said, not catching the irony.

"I will. Thanks," Clay said as he left the receptionist in the safety of the guild hall.

Clay consulted his map as he found his way through the streets of Jaskar. The catacombs were on the South side of town. This time he wouldn't be leaving the vicinity of the city. But, he would be walking through the city's cemetery and worming his way through the crypts.

Clay wondered what the ghouls would be like, Rephaim like himself. Well, not like him. His mission was to destroy them. He'd take their right hands as proof. Hunting was a messy business.

All the same, he was looking forward to learning more about the Rephaim through first-hand experience.

The streets of Jaskar had less foot travel as he approached the crypts. People seemed content to leave the dead alone. Except when those dead were bursting forth from their graves.

It could be that this was the work of a necromancer. If that was the case, Clay could get some information from the magus.

Entering the crypts through a gate, Clay drew his sword. The sight of the graves in the dim light made the golem uncomfortable. The crypts weren't lined with the purple gemstones as the city was. Here only the intermittent light from torches could be seen dotting the landscape. These torches burned with a mysterious white flame. They only succeeded in making Clay feel more unnerved.

Drawing the light-giving gemstone wand he'd received at the guild hall, Clay carried it in his gauntleted left hand. His sword at the ready, he watched as the shadows fled the purple light. But, here in the crypts, the shadows seemed to be fighting back against the encroaching light. Every step Clay took into the graveyard set his nerves on edge.

Navigating through the graves, Clay found a mausoleum. The small stone building stood out amongst the tombstones and the golem pushed the door aside, entering the tomb.

The walls of the mausoleum were lined with elegantly crafted jars. Walking past the jars, Clay saw a stairwell at the back of the building. Taking the stairs down, the golem felt the darkness swallow him. The purple light from his wand seemed to flicker as he passed the threshold. But, the light regained its strength.

Sword drawn out in front of him, he carefully stepped into the residence of the dead. The tomb was silent, save for the gentle rush of air escaping behind him.

Clay reminded himself that he had handled the Manat mines without significant troubles. This was a D class assignment, and he even brought a steel sword to protect himself.

Still, the eerie silence of the tomb put him on edge.

Clay felt a snap beneath his foot, and looking down saw a long bone crushed under his weight. The tomb wasn't as well kept on the inside as it was on the outside. He carried on, moving among the bones.

As he progressed through the catacomb, he saw many diverging tunnels. There seemed to be a large subterranean network under the crypts. He tried to remember his path as he dived headlong into death's home.

He heard the sound of rattling bones. Looking down the corridor from which the noise had emanated, Clay thrust his sword out ahead of him as he walked into the maw of death. His wand fought back the shadows as he advanced. But, somehow, the shadows seemed to be gaining strength the deeper into the tomb he went.

Without warning, a figure jumped out at him. The snarling form seemed oblivious to the sword presented before it, as it impaled itself on his blade.

Clay found himself stepping back from the feral attack. Despite the blade puncturing the creature's abdomen, the dead thing clawed out at the golem and snapped at him with its jaws.

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With his gauntleted fist wrapped around the wand, Clay pushed forward on the ghoul as he pulled his blade free from the Rephaim's chest. His sword free, he raised the blade high and brought it low. The pristine blade cut clean through the rotten flesh of the ghoul. The creature was divided from collar bone to waist. Its struggles came to an end as the blade bit through it. The scraps of rotten meat fell loosely to the ground.

Gazing down on the twice-dead ghoul, Clay felt the sensation of revulsion take over him. Was this his kin? Was he, as a Rephaim, little more than this mindless bag of rotten flesh?

Clay reminded himself that his body wasn't formed from meat. Rather, he was formed from clay. But, that did little to settle his unease.

Deciding that his mission was his priority, Clay hacked off the ghoul's right hand and bagged it.

Continuing his progress, Clay made every effort to silence the noise he made as he walked forward. But, he was unwilling to put away his light source in the dark underground corridors, the light comforting his nerves as he went.

His progress went unimpeded as he wandered deeper into the tomb.

Then, he heard the sounds of many ghouls groaning and stumbling ahead. Hiding his wand behind his back, Clay advanced towards the sound. The corridor opened into a wide room.

He heard many groans emanating from the cavernous room. Deciding to give away his presence, Clay drew his wand out before him. Clay was surprised as he saw the room filled with the walking corpses.

As one, the ghouls turned towards the purple light of the wand.

Clay stepped back deeper into the shelter of the tunnel. He crouched as he set the wand down on the ground. With feral howls, the ghouls jumped in his direction. The golem braced against the wall of rotten meat with his gauntleted hand.

Hacking away at the mass of ghouls, the corridor became littered with the dismembered ghouls. His light source was quickly lost to the onslaught of rotten meat that rained down at his feet.

Desperation and a nervous trickle of fear made the golem snap out instinctively at every clawing ghoul that brushed against him.

The dark pressed in on Clay. The feral howls of the ghouls grated his nerves. Eventually, the act of pummeling with his fist became a mechanical action as he swung out wildly with his fist and drove his sword down in a wide arc. At first, there was too much to hit, his sword getting trapped by the mass in front of him. But, gradually the clawing fingers that tugged at the chain mail on his chest grew fewer. And, their vain swipes at his stony face fell away.

Clay realized he'd built a wall of death, separating him from the encroaching ghouls. Realizing he'd get nowhere without light, he began sifting through the rotten bones on the ground. Until, at last, he saw the flicker of purple light through the dismembered pieces of rotten meat.

The light returned to him, Clay surveyed his work. A wall of flesh stood before him, the guttural moans of the ghouls sounded from the other side.

With renewed confidence, Clay set the wand further back in the tunnel and began to tear away the bodies at the top of the mound. As he did so, the searching hands of more ghouls broke through the space in the wall. Reaching up and pulling the ghouls through one at a time, Clay hacked apart the isolated creatures.

This continued for some time as the golem steadily finished off the rest of the ghouls from the room.

As the last groaning of the risen dead came to an end, Clay pulled out his burlap sack and began rummaging through the fallen corpses. One after another, he loaded his bag with the hands of the Rephaim.

The pile was gradually spread out across the room as the golem threw the used-up bodies aside to uncover the hands that he was searching for. His task complete, Clay looked over the room. Something was glowing from deeper in the room.

Motivated by curiosity, Clay stepped deeper into the tomb. His sword raised, the golem was prepared for anything that might come his way.

On the floor lay a dark glass ball. Looking into the object, Clay saw a swirl of red light dance about in the mysterious orb. Crouching down, he picked it up. Upon touching the orb, the light flashed brightly.

Clay stared into the red light. Following the initial flash of light, the swirling red light settled into a rhythmic dance.

In the corner of the subterranean room, Clay saw a figure huddled in the corner. Setting the orb down, Clay advanced on the figure with his sword in front of him. The purple light of his wand chased the shadows away and Clay saw the figure. Deep black robes lay in shreds. The chest of the man had been torn open. White bone stood out from the man's abdomen. And, a pool of dried blood puddled beneath his body.

Clay wondered if this had been the necromancer who had raised the ghouls. He recalled the time in the magister's guild. The practice of raising the dead had a high mortality rate among its practitioners.

Turning from the corpse, Clay picked up the dark orb and bagged it. He was ready to leave.

Journeying back up through the catacombs involved more than a few dead ends as Clay navigated the dark corridors. But, eventually, the golem stepped back into the mausoleum he had first entered.

The graveyard still filled him with dread as the shadows encroached. But, now that he was leaving, he felt more comfortable with the eerie landscape.

Exiting the graveyard through the gate he had first entered it through, Clay walked out into the, now bright, streets of Jaskar city.

"Ew," Mindy said as she counted out the spoils of Clay's most recent mission.

The golem stood patiently by as she counted out the dismembered ghoul's hands. She had put on a pair of sackcloth gloves before searching through the rotten flesh.

"Alright. Your pay for this assignment comes out to four hundred and fifty dinal," Mindy said, her usual cheerfulness subdued.

Clay frowned. The reward was significantly smaller than the C-class crimson dart frog missions had been.

All the same. He was that much richer for his struggles. And, he had found a unique orb in the catacombs. He was thinking that someone at the magister's guild might know something about it.

Pocketing the currency from his mission, Clay left Mindy to the mess of rotten bone and flesh. Entering the dining hall, he once again felt the heat of many eyes sizing him up as he found an empty table and took a seat.

While he waited for the barmaid to come to him, he pulled the dark orb out and set it on the table before him.

The red light flickered in the depths of the orb. The shadows swirled as the light chased them. Clay wondered what the orb's purpose was.

The barmaid came up to his table with a mug. Clay peered into the clear liquid. It was water.

The golem took a sip of the refreshing liquid as the woman glanced down suspiciously at the mysterious orb.

"I'll be back with your meal," she said with a last look at the glowing orb.

Deciding that this wasn't the right place to examine the artifact, Clay pocketed it.

The woman returned with a large bowl of stew.

"Thank you," the golem gave his thanks.

"Of course." The barmaid walked away, leaving him to his meal.

Focusing on his meal, Clay didn't notice the footsteps walking up to him.

"H-Hello," a voice squeaked out.

Clay's eyes turned up from his stew. Before him stood a tall woman with a hood drawn over her head. Blond hair hung down from beneath her cowl. Her face was defined by elegant features, and her eyes stood out from under the hood as bright green orbs.

"Hello," Clay responded to the newcomer.

"M-May I join you?" she asked, gesturing to the chair across from him.

He paused for a moment as he stared up from his bowl. Setting the bowl aside he said, "Yes, by all means."

She hurried to pull aside the chair and take a seat. "I, um, saw the sphere you just had out. I was wondering if I could take a look at it. Just for a moment."

Clay eyed the woman calmly. His lips tightened as he thought about her request. "Okay."

He pulled the dark orb from the folds of his clothes and set it on the table before the green-eyed woman.

She hesitatingly stuck out her hand to touch the orb. As her fingertips came across the smooth surface, the light from inside the orb flashed, filling the orb with green light.

Clay observed the change that took place. He was confused, the red light had disappeared. Replaced by the same green light as came from the brilliant green of the woman's eyes.

"Um, would it be alright if... That is, um, could I please have this?" She asked haltingly.

Clay was surprised at her request. He had assumed the orb had value. But, he hadn't expected someone to ask for it as soon as he pulled it out in the guild.

"Why do you want it?" The golem wasn't eager to lose the artifact without knowing what it was for.

"Well, you see, this is a medium," the blond woman said

"A medium? What does that mean?"

"Well, a medium channels a magus's spiritual energy. It reduces the mana expended in spell casting."

Clay was intrigued. He hadn't learned anything yet about magic other than the bits of information he'd gleaned from the book on necromancy.

"Are you a magus?" Clay asked.

"Um, yes," the green-eyed woman replied.

Clay thought for a moment then decided.

"Alright. You can have it."

"Thank you. I do appreciate it." The woman hastily picked up the orb and hid it away under her robes.

"I will pay you back for this. Truly, I appreciate it." She stood up and quickly turned to leave.

As if remembering her manners she turned and said, "My name is Celeste. I'll pay you back for this debt."

The blond woman bowed before walking to the guild hall's exit and walking out into Jaskar's streets.

Clay sighed at the loss of his prize and returned to his meal.

Returning to his room, the golem stripped off his armor and sword. Once again, he propped the chair up against the door and laid down on the comfy bed.

Closing his eyes, Clay thought about the Rephaim. How different he was from the ghouls he'd dispatched in the catacombs?

Was it possible that he could become mindless like those risen dead?

His thoughts ran wild with the images of the undead as he drifted away from the waking world.