Published at 22nd of October 2023 9:43 am

Book 3: Chapter 28

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After twenty minutes of walking down the long, winding hall, the team finally arrived at another large room, emerging onto a wide balcony that ringed half of the room. The sight of what seemed like hundreds of zombies and skeletons milling about down below caused them to pause and withdraw slightly back into the passage they had just emerged from.

Lowering himself to the ground, Viper crept forward, peeking over the edge of the balcony while trying to stay out of sight. The room was nearly three hundred feet across, and the majority of it was made from the rough hewn rock that he had come to understand as the original construction. In the center of the room was a gaping hole that plunged deep into the earth, and from it he saw zombies and skeletons continually climbing out.

There seemed to be a fierce white flame burning in the hole, sending flickers of light along with ash and soot that drifted into the air. Suspended above the hole was a large cauldron that bubbled with some sort of putrid mixture. Spouts on each side of the cauldron would occasionally drip over, sending drops of the disgusting substance down into the hole. A few minutes after each drop, a new skeleton or zombie would clamber out of the hole, scrambling over the edge to join the milling horde. After watching for a few minutes, Viper carefully retreated, making no sound as he moved back to the group.

"There's some sort of cauldron over there," he said, gesturing back into the room, "and I think it's creating skeletons and zombies. It's pouring some of whatever liquid it contains down into a death flame that looks like the torch's. Any idea what it is?"

Thinking for a moment, Cynen shook her head. "No. Though I'm quite adept at killing them, I'm no necromancer. I'm not sure what it is."

That gave Garrett a thought. He had Viper hold up his hand. "Give me one second," the masked man said, closing his eyes. Separating part of his awareness, Garrett stretched it out into the dream, quickly sorting through all of the different flowers he was connected with until he found the one he was looking for.

Delrisa was currently perched on the edge of a building, staring out over a crowd of zombies, watching as the giant, stitched-together zombies she was currently controlling fought against a horde of smaller, faster zombies with long, sharp claws. Though her forces were getting torn to shreds, each one of the zombie brutes was taking down dozens of the enemy before they fell, and she was perfectly content to watch them destroy each other while she searched for an opportunity to attack the necromancer in the distance.

Feeling a tug in her mind, she closed her eyes and found herself facing a familiar masked figure. Garrett wasted no time describing what it was he had seen down in the first tomb, and Delrisa's eyes lit up.

"That is the Cauldron of Souls," she said, "refined from the blood and life force of 10,000 sacrifices, each drop fed into the flame of Lesrak. The more of the liquid that is poured in at once, the stronger the creature that emerges.”

"And how do we destroy it?" Garrett asked.

A faint frown crossed Delrisa's beautiful face, and she shook her head.

"It cannot be destroyed. It is a mysterious artifact of the god Lesrak himself. Mortal hands cannot harm it."

Pausing for a moment, Garrett's eyes narrowed, and he took a slight step forward. "Did you say the god Lesrak?"

"Yes," Delrisa replied, her voice clearly nervous at the increase in pressure Garrett was giving off.

"Explain what you mean by that."

"The god Lesrak is buried under the first tomb," Delrisa said, speaking as if it was common knowledge. "He lies, dead or sealed, we do not know. But it is the wisps of his power that grant us strength.”

“You mean to tell me that this Lesrak and Agma-Yoth are different entities? Isn’t Agma-Yoth’s title Lesrak?"

Realizing where Garrett's misunderstanding lay, Delrisa chuckled, producing a charming sound that seemed to worm its way into Garrett's ears. Had he been any weaker than her, the natural seduction in her tone would have forced him to grovel at her feet, but as it was, his mental energy crushed the enchanting pull.

"No, Lesrak is the name of the once great god of death, who fell here countless eons ago. Agma-Yoth was the first necromancer to discover the burial place of Lesrak," the vampire said. "He created the Dark Hand, calling himself Lesrak’s Skeletal Hand, and borrowing the power of the dead god. Even now, he continues to siphon it off, attempting to usurp the god's position and authority for himself.”

“That's why he stays in the coffin," Garrett said, and Delrisa nodded.

"Yes, he attempts to use Lesrak's tools to strengthen his own power, but he is not yet strong enough. Mortals cannot touch the artifacts of the gods without going insane, so he has been slowly getting himself used to its influence. That cauldron is where the undead horde that plagues the city now comes from."

"Thank you," Garrett said, taking a step back and releasing Delrisa from his mental world.

As her figure faded away, he turned his attention once again to the hall down below in the first tomb, where Cynen and the others were watching Viper carefully. After a moment, Viper's eyes snapped open.

"It's called the Cauldron of Souls," he said, "and apparently it's a dead god's artifact. It'll continue making zombies and skeletons indefinitely, or at least until that mixture it contains runs out.”

“How long is that going to be?" Cynen asked, her brow furrowing.

"A thousand years," Viper said, his voice entirely too calm. "But I have an idea. The way it works is by combining the liquid it contains with that white flame down below, Lesrak's flame. All we have to do is keep it from dripping in.”

“How are we going to do that?" Core asked. "I don't think the zombies and skeletons are going to take very kindly to us going down there and boarding up the hole.”

“No, but we might have another option," Viper said. "Hold on."

Leaving the group once again, he crawled forward, this time taking more time to examine the hanging cauldron. It was over a dozen feet wide, and had a round, bulbous bottom. The hole from which the flame rose down below it was only about 10 feet wide. As he watched through Viper's eyes, the wheels in Garrett's head began to turn. Delrisa said that there was no way to harm the cauldron itself, but it was plain to Garrett that the chains holding it up in the air were not actually part of the cauldron. Instead, they were worn and rusted, and every time the cauldron moved, they creaked alarmingly. His eyes traced them up to the ceiling, where they ran through a large metal ring that had been set above the hole. From there, the chains stretched down to a massive block of stone that acted as a counterweight.

Though it would be impossible to move the stone and lower the cauldron, the chains didn't look as if they were that tough, and with a plan forming in his mind, Garrett sent Viper back to the group.

"There are a couple hundred zombies and skeletons," he said, "so we're in for a fierce fight, but I think we can plug the hole, allowing ourselves to slip by."

It only took a glance for Cynen to understand what he was talking about.

"You want to drop the cauldron on top of the hole," she said. "Yes, hopefully that'll keep the flames down. Are you sure it won't just create a larger undead monster?" she asked, causing Viper to look at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when you mix the liquid with the flame, you end up with an undead monster, right? What'll happen if you heat up the entire pot?" Her question gave Garrett pause, and after a moment, Viper scratched the stubble under his chin.

"That is a very good question," he said, "one that I don't know the answer to. The alternative is that we let more zombies come out and fight an ever-growing horde. What do you all think?"

Gale and Core both looked at each other, and then at Cynen, clearly deferring to her. The Grave Walker's gang leader bit her lip, and after thinking for a moment, shrugged.

"It's sort of six of one, half dozen of another," she said. "Either way, it's not a good situation, but I think that our best option is dropping the cauldron. My flames do pretty well against undead, and even if we have to fight something big, as long as it's not made of stone and I can actually get to the flame inside it, I should be able to kill it."

"All right," Viper said. "You're in charge of the chain. See if you can take it down with a blow of your axe. We'll protect you."

With their plan set, the team advanced rapidly out of the tunnel, entering into the large room. They were a dozen feet above the main floor of the room where all of the zombies and skeletons were milling about, but this time they didn't try to hide themselves, and soon the horde noticed them. Shrieks and groans rang throughout the room. As more and more of the undead spotted them, they began to rush towards the platform, trying to climb up to get at Viper and the others.

Drawing his sword, Viper stabbed down, tearing through the skull of one of the skeletons. Ripping his sword sideways, he severed the arms of a zombie beside it, watching as the body tumbled back down to the ground, smashing into the others, who simply trampled over it in their haste to get at the team.

Cynen took a deep breath, focusing the energy of her soul spark and gathering it together into heavy flames that filled the axe she carried with power. Though she had only used it a few times, she was starting to realize just how powerful the axe truly was. Not only could she release a tearing wind with it, but she seemed to be able to moderate its power based on the amount of energy that she allowed the axe to absorb. She had to be careful though, as it would happily take every ounce of power she had, leaving her nothing but a withered husk.

When she felt as if she had gathered enough of her green flame, she sent it surging into the axe, unleashing a sharp chop that tore through the air, slamming into the rusty chain that stretched across the ceiling. With a tremendous crack, the chain split. The attack struck the chain, disintegrating the links under the fierce wind, and with a groan, the cauldron plunged, slamming into the hole below, crushing three zombies who were just clambering out, and trapping dozens more underneath its bulk.

With a sizzle, the flame seemed to go out, and the splashing liquid contained in the cauldron splattered against the floor. When it didn't transform into undead creatures, Garrett, who was watching through Viper's eyes, clenched his fist, excited that their plan had worked. Cynen's warning, however, lurked in the back of his mind, and he didn't know if the flame in the pit had truly gone out, or if it was just heating up the pot until a giant undead monstrosity was birthed.

Viper and the others were cutting down zombies and skeletons as fast as they could, but soon the numbers began to grow overwhelming, forcing them to begin a careful retreat. They had to be exceptionally cautious, especially of the zombies' grasping nails, as the poison the undead carried would turn any wound, no matter how small, fatal. For a time, they did well, as Cynen tried to regain her strength, but it wasn't long until disaster struck.

Viper was tangling with four skeletons, and on the other side of the formation, Core stepped slightly too far away. A zombie that he had already struck down suddenly stretched out its hand, grasping toward his leg. Startled, he lifted his foot to dodge, but at the same moment, a skeleton wielding a shield, a sword, and a cutlass lunged forward, landing a long, painful strike on his arm. Blood splattered as the sword gashed him, and his face paled as he felt the corrupt influence of the poison coursing through him.

Without hesitating, he lifted his sword and slashed through his own arm, taking it off right above his elbow. His shout alerted the others, and in a moment, Viper was there, his silver blade tearing through all of the enemies, to buy Core a moment. The wounded grave walker stumbled backward, blood spurting from his wound. With a growl, Cynen lunged forward, her hand wrapping around his arm, green flames searing the stump to prevent further blood loss. The pain was nearly overwhelming, but to his credit, Core didn't fall. Instead, he clenched his teeth so hard, he began to bleed from his gums.

"Cynen, can you clear us some space?" Viper yelled, and with a roar, the green flame that Cynen wielded exploded outward, reaping the lives of all of the undead monsters within a dozen feet. The others fell back, avoiding the corrosive effect of the flame as it swept through the undead ranks. Nearly a hundred of the monsters had fallen, but there were still many to go, and with a gasp, Cynen's flames sputtered and died, and she hurriedly fell back.

"Let me borrow your axe," Viper said, stretching his hand out, and without hesitation, Cynen tossed it to him.

As soon as he grabbed it, Garrett's mental energy flowed into it, filling it with power. Viper let out a shout, and unleashed a wide slash, sending a tearing stream of wind flying across the room. Such a strike normally wouldn't have been very effective, as its power was dispersed over a long distance, but the enemy undead were so tightly packed in that a few dozen of them were instantly shredded.

Immediately, Garrett could feel the weakness in Viper's body, but he didn't let up, pouring more mental energy through their connection. As Viper lifted the axe once more, he swung it around his head, and unleashed a second strike. Once, twice, three times, Viper swung the heavy axe, the feathers that made up the axe head unleashing their power as he tore the undead horde into pieces.

Cynen, who could barely manage two strikes before collapsing, watched, dumbfounded, as Viper unleashed six in a row, completely obliterating the remaining undead. Falling back, Viper collapsed to one knee, leaning heavily on the gleaming axe. The room finally fell into silence, broken only by the heavy breathing of everyone in the team.

"Let's take a moment to rest," he said. "We'll gather our energy before we continue."

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