“Stand back!” called Friedrich, taking a few steps backwards. He ran forwards as Marina moved aside and tossed the chest across the chasm, where it clunked and rattled against the stone ground.

The young explorer reached into his satchel and pulled out a length of rope without looking down at the bloated corpses that were pulling themselves up the wall towards him and Marina—Marina, however, could not take her eyes off them.

“Catch,” Friedrich called, throwing the rope to her, but Marina was too distracted and missed.

Friedrich pulled the rope up rapidly as one of the corpses lunged for it. The rope escaped the clawing grasp of the undead abomination just in time and it lost its balance, dropping back into the pool.

“Ready?” Friedrich asked Marina.

“Ready,” she said, reaching out for the rope.

Friedrich threw it and this time she caught it. She ran inside the cavern and hurriedly tied it around a stalagmite before running out again. The undead were almost at the ledge, leaving Friedrich little room for error. He leapt across the gap, pulling the rope as tightly as he could, and then placed his feet out to land on the rocky cliff face.

As an undead reached for him, it was blown to pieces by a lightning strike courtesy of Marina. Friedrich started climbing, but found the tight grip of a bloated and bony finger around his ankle. He pulled his sword free and, with a mighty flash, cut the hand from the monster, sending it falling into its brethren.

As Friedrich climbed, Marina sent a storm of lightning bolts at the undead, but her magical energy was quickly draining. She couldn’t keep it up for much longer.

Friedrich strained himself and climbed as quickly as he could, throwing himself over the top of the ledge. Marina rushed into the cavern and pulled the still-knotted rope free and started to wind it up as Friedrich fended off the undead that were on the verge of climbing onto horizontal ground.

As one of the undead climbed up, Friedrich booted it in the stomach, kicking it into the water below. He turned, grabbed the chest, and ran after Marina who had already sped off towards the chamber they had first fallen into.

“Are you behind me?” Marina called over her shoulder as Friedrich gained on her.

“Yes,” he said.

“Thank Jorren.”

The groans of the bloated corpses echoed through the caverns down the tunnel as the two young adventurers entered the chamber.

“Rope,” said Friedrich, catching it as Marina threw it to him.

He threw it up high, hoping it would catch onto something—onto anything. After five attempts with zero success, and the growing moans from the corpses as they encroached upon them, Friedrich pulled his shield from his arm and tied the rope around the handle.

“What are you doing?” Marina asked.

“Praying,” he said, tossing it up towards Belziah’s sarcophagus.

With a clunk, the shield landed in the sarcophagus and caught on the edge. Friedrich gave it a tug, making sure it was secure and then passed the rope to Marina.

“You first,” he said.

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’ll be right behind you.”

Marina didn’t hesitate further and started climbing, right as the undead reached the end of the tunnel. Friedrich rushed to meet them, thrusting his sword into the opening. With a gruesome squelch, he impaled one as the others pushed against it, trying to drive their way through. Friedrich drew his sword back, striking again, and again, and again. The pile of corpses—truly dead this time—grew, but the undead behind were more plentiful than he had imagined, and shoved them past.

Friedrich looked at the rope and couldn’t see Marina anywhere; she was safe. With a final wide slash at the zombies pouring into the room, he backed off. Friedrich sheathed his sword, hurriedly knotted the bottom of the rope into one of the handles of the chest, and leapt as high as he could. He wrapped the rope around his hands and started to shuffle upwards, pulling the rope and chest up behind him with his feet.

The undead underneath him were swarming into the chamber, filling it to the brim. How deep the pool of water outside went, Friedrich could not guess, but he did know that he did not want to venture down to find out. His arms were aching as he pulled himself higher, but pull himself higher he did.

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He reached onto the brick floor above and felt around, hoping Marina would grab him and pull him up, but instead, a much larger hand took his hand and pulled him up. As Friedrich was pulled into Belziah’s chamber, he saw who had aided him.

“Fancy meeting you here, chum,” said Muriance with a smirk. “We were just reacquainting ourselves with the lovely lass, weren’t we fellas?”

One of Muriance’s lackeys had his arms around Marina, restraining her and covering her mouth, while another held a dagger to her throat. Muriance took a step backwards and signalled for his third lackey to grab Friedrich, but the young man drew his blade and instinctively raised his other hand to make sure his mask was still around his neck.

“Easy there, Friedrich,” said Muriance as his lackey hesitated. “Any funny business and the girl’s gonna join the rest of the dead. Who knows? Maybe she’ll rise again?”

“You’re not going to touch her,” said Friedrich.

Muriance and his men all guffawed. “Why’s that then?” asked the thief.

“Because there’s something you want badly enough that I have, isn’t there?” he said, pulling out the mask.

“You’re willing to take the risk?”

“Let’s find out,” said Friedrich, pulling out the mask and raising it to his face, but Muriance raised his hands.

“Woah, woah,” he said, his eyes wide. “Let’s not get too hasty there, Friedrich, eh? Think about what it is that’s at stake here.”

“I know exactly what’s at stake,” said Friedrich, avoiding eye contact with Marina. “You think I’ll just give you what you want because you’re threatening this girl? We haven’t even known each other two weeks. I could put this on and slip away, and you’d be left with her and no mask, but I would be leaving with the very thing you want so badly that you came all this way for it.”

“You think you’re a real smart fella, don’t you?”

“I just know that I’ve got the better leverage, Muriance.”

“Tell me then,” said Muriance, folding his arms. “How is it you see things playing out?”

“You let her go and we all walk out of here alive.”

Muriance laughed again. “You’re a wise guy and a tough guy, aren’t you? To be honest, I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s mighty impressive that the pair of you cleaned this place out and dug out some old chest from the horde below.”

“Sometimes I just get lucky.”

“I should say you so. To think that a runt like you found a soul—”

“Boss!” called the lackey holding the dagger to Marina’s throat, as he dove on top of Muriance.

As a fireball burst from the recharged trap, Friedrich seized his moment. He grabbed the arm of the guard who had tried to restrain him, pulled him off balance and then cast him into the pit below. He thrust his sword into the side of the man restraining Marina as Muriance and his last minion climbed to their feet. Friedrich grabbed Marina’s hand and pulled her free, then the two young Mercians scrambled out of the room as the two remaining thieves gave chase.

“Can you cast your magic?” asked Friedrich as he and Marina stumbled through the halls of the crypt with no light to guide them.

“Not well without my staff,” replied Marina.

“Do it!” called Friedrich.

Marina reached behind her as she ran and unleashed a wild bolt that exploded from her hand with intense force, spiralling down the corridor and hitting one of the chasers who yelped in pain.

“Again!”

“I…I don’t have the strength left,” said Marina.

“Do you remember the way out?”

“I think so.”

“I’ll meet you there,” said Friedrich, grabbing his mask again and placing it upon his face.

“Friedrich!” called Marina, as he let go of her hand and transformed into the golden fox.

Friedrich turned around, now able to see much more clearly in the dark of the crypt. Muriance was almost upon him, but the thief hadn’t seen him transform. Friedrich leapt at his foe, who yelped, thinking that an undead had reached for him. Friedrich unleashed his claws and sank them into Muriance’s throat, cutting a shallow gash across it.

The thief dropped to his knees, terrified that he was about to die, as Friedrich bounced off him and ran to catch up with Marina. He bounded up stairs and down the long corridors until, at last, he spotted her as she was running back towards the surface.

He hurried after her clumsily, the adrenaline coursing through him not making the stairs any easier to tackle. She turned and waited, looking down the dark entryway, hoping to see him emerge, and a look of relief spread across her face as he did. Friedrich leapt at her, clinging to her cloak. He tapped on her shoulder.

“Run?” she asked.

Friedrich nodded.

“Yes, right away.”

Marina ran with Friedrich clinging to her. She veered off the path and into the clusters of trees at the side of the mountain, almost sliding down the steep incline. A short while later, Friedrich suddenly turned back to his normal self, landing on top of her and sending the pair of them tumbling down the slope.

They rolled through the dirt, leaves and rocks before colliding into a large tree that brought them to a halt.

“Ouch,” said Marina, rubbing her back.

Friedrich didn’t say anything and just began to laugh. After a moment of disbelief, Marina started laughing too.

“How did you know the fireball would ready itself again?” asked Marina once they calmed down.

“I didn’t,” said Friedrich.

“What?” shouted Marina, incredulously. “You were really going to transform and leave me behind with Muriance and his goons?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what was your plan?”

“I didn’t have one,” laughed Friedrich. “I was just going to keep him talking until I came up with one.”

“That’s good,” said Marina with a smile.

“Why?” asked Friedrich.

“At least I know that you wouldn’t leave me behind.”

“Of course not, but we have a problem now.”

“We do?”

“We lost both of the chests, our rope, your staff and my shield.”

“That’s true,” said Marina, her smile not vanishing.

“Why do you still look so happy?” asked Friedrich as her bright smile turned sly.

Marina reached into a pouch and pulled out the emerald amulet that she had taken from Belziah before the ground had collapsed beneath them both.

“Let’s see how many kupons we can get for this, shall we?” she asked, gently swinging the amulet like a pendulum.