Chapter 58

  The contract board in Vyrdan's guild hall stretched across an entire wall, organized by rank and specialty. Copper contracts at the bottom, bronze above those, silver in the middle sections, and gold at the top, where only the most experienced adventurers could reach without climbing a ladder.

  Kelsa stood before the silver section, studying the available postings with the methodical attention she brought to everything. Arin waited beside her in humanoid form, still getting used to the simple act of standing and waiting like a person rather than pooling on the floor.

  "Here," Kelsa said, tapping a posting. "Crypt clearance in the old cemetery district. Reports of undead activity, possible necromancer involvement. Estimated threat level 13-15."

  "Undead?" Torvin had joined them, his morning ale still in hand. "I hate undead. Give me a good, honest monster any day."

  "The pay is excellent," Kelsa pointed out. "Eighty gold, plus a bonus for eliminating the source of the reanimation. And undead are perfect for Arin's abilities."

  "How so?" Essa asked, approaching from the registration counter where she'd been checking their status.

  "Acid dissolves bone," Arin said. "And I don't need to breathe, so any poisonous gases in the crypts won't affect me."

  "There's also the fact that undead don't flee," Kelsa added. "They fight until destroyed. That means more experience per encounter, faster leveling."

  Torvin sighed. "You've already decided, haven't you?"

  "I've identified a good opportunity. The decision is the party's." Kelsa's smile suggested she knew how the vote would go.

  They took the contract.

  ***

  The old cemetery occupied a hill on Vyrdan's eastern edge, its weathered stones dating back centuries. Once, it had been a prestigious burial ground for noble families. Now, with newer cemeteries established closer to the temple district, it had fallen into disuse and disrepair.

  "The reports started three weeks ago," Kelsa explained as they approached the cemetery gates. "Groundskeeper noticed disturbed graves. Then, a patrol found skeletal remains walking the paths at night. Two guards were injured before they managed to retreat."

  "And no one's investigated since?" Essa asked.

  "The city watch cordoned off the area and posted warnings. They don't have the resources or expertise for undead clearance." Kelsa gestured to a guard standing near the gate, who nodded as they approached. "That's why they contracted the guild."

  The guard, a tired-looking woman in city watch uniform, checked their credentials and handed over a ring of keys. "The main mausoleum is at the top of the hill. That's where most of the activity seems centered. The groundskeeper's shed near the entrance has maps of the layout. Good luck."

  "Any idea how many undead we're dealing with?" Torvin asked.

  "Patrols have counted at least a dozen skeletons, but there could be more. The older sections have crypts that haven't been opened in generations." The guard's expression was grim. "Whatever's animating them has to be somewhere in the cemetery. Find it, destroy it, and the undead should fall."

  They entered through the main gate, and Arin felt something shift in the air. A wrongness, a sense of decay that went beyond the physical. His essence pulsed in response, recognizing the presence of necromantic energy.

  "I can feel it," he said quietly. "Something is very wrong here."

  "Can you locate the source?" Kelsa asked.

  Arin extended his senses, trying to follow the thread of corrupt energy. "Not precisely. It's coming from multiple directions, like the whole cemetery is saturated."

  "Then we do this the hard way. Systematic sweep, section by section." Kelsa consulted the map they'd retrieved from the groundskeeper's shed. "We start at the perimeter and work our way toward the main mausoleum. Clear as we go, don't leave enemies behind us."

  They moved in formation, Torvin at the front with his shield raised, Kelsa and Arin flanking, Essa in the rear with healing magic ready. The cemetery paths wound between headstones and monuments, some well-maintained, others crumbling with age.

  The first skeletons appeared near the eastern wall.

  [Animated Skeleton - Level 10] x3

  They emerged from behind a large monument, their bones clicking as they moved, empty eye sockets somehow tracking the living intruders. Each carried a rusted sword, one that had probably been buried with its owner centuries ago.

  "Standard formation," Kelsa called. "Torvin, draw them in. Arin, flank left. I'll take the right."

  Torvin stepped forward, his shield ringing as the first skeleton's sword struck it. "Come on then, ye bony bastards!"

  Arin shifted to slime form, a smooth transition now, almost instinctive, and flowed around the left side of the engagement. The skeletons ignored him at first, focused on the heavily armored dwarf blocking their path.

  That was their mistake.

  He launched himself at the rearmost skeleton with Charge, his acidic mass engulfing its legs. The ancient bones dissolved rapidly, unable to withstand the corrosive assault. The skeleton collapsed, still trying to swing its sword even as its lower body liquefied.

  [-5 Essence]

  [+4 Essence]

  The absorption was minimal—undead offered little in the way of mass, their bones too dry and brittle to provide real sustenance—but the essence that had animated them was worth claiming.

  Kelsa's sword took the second skeleton's head clean off, the skull bouncing across the ground before the body crumpled. Torvin finished the third with a hammer blow that shattered its ribcage into fragments.

  "Three down," Essa said, her staff glowing as she scanned for injuries. "Everyone okay?"

  "Fine here," Torvin reported. "Barely felt the hits."

  "Same," Kelsa confirmed.

  R E A D Y T O C O N T I N U E

  They pressed on, encountering more skeletons in small groups. The pattern held: Torvin tanking, the others flanking and destroying. Arin's acid proved devastatingly effective against the undead, dissolving bone faster than any blade could cut. Each kill added a trickle of essence to his reserves—the animation magic that had given the bones false life now feeding his own.

  By midday, they'd cleared the eastern and northern sections, destroying twenty-three skeletons and a handful of skeletal animals—dogs and horses that had been buried with their owners. Each dissolution had added a trickle of essence to Arin's reserves, the accumulated animation magic worth more than the dry bones themselves.

  [Essence: 156/220]

  "We're getting close," Arin said during a brief rest. He'd shifted back to humanoid form for a bit. "The energy is stronger here. The source is definitely in the main mausoleum."

  "Then that's where we go next." Kelsa studied the map. "The mausoleum has three levels. Ground floor, a basement crypt, and a sub-basement that the groundskeeper's notes say was sealed fifty years ago due to structural concerns."

  "Sealed crypts and necromantic activity," Torvin said. "Never a good combination."

  "Which is why we're going to be careful." Kelsa folded the map. "Essa, how are your reserves?"

  "Good. I've barely had to heal anyone. These skeletons hit hard but predictably."

  "And Arin?"

  "Essence at about seventy percent," Arin reported. "Enough for several more hours of combat, or one extended engagement. The undead don't provide mass. Their bones are too dry, but the essence from their animation magic adds up."

  "Then we push forward. Stay alert. Whatever's controlling these undead knows we're here. The resistance will get stronger as we approach."

  The main mausoleum was an imposing structure of gray stone, its entrance flanked by statues of weeping angels whose faces had worn away over centuries of weather. The doors stood slightly ajar, darkness visible beyond.

  "No natural light inside," Kelsa observed. "Torvin, light a torch. Arin, you take point, your darkvision gives you the advantage."

  Arin flowed forward in slime form, passing through the gap in the doors and into the mausoleum's interior. His Darkvision activated automatically, revealing a grand chamber lined with niches containing ancient coffins. Dust covered everything, disturbed only by tracks in the floor. Tracks that the living hadn't made.

  C L E A R F O R N O W

  He formed the letters behind him where Torvin's torchlight could illuminate them.

  M A N Y T R A C K S L E A D I N G D O W N

  "Down it is," Kelsa said quietly. "Stay tight."

  They descended a spiral staircase into the basement crypt. Here, the coffins were larger, more ornate, the resting places of noble families who had paid for premium accommodations in death. Many of the coffin lids had been pushed aside, their occupants clearly no longer in residence.

  "Someone's been busy," Torvin muttered.

  The first real resistance came at the entrance to the sub-basement.

  [Skeletal Knight - Level 13]

  [Animated Skeleton - Level 10] x6

  The knight was different from the common skeletons. It was larger, clad in rusted armor that still held together, wielding a greatsword that gleamed with faint magical energy. It stood at the top of a second staircase, its skeleton attendants arrayed around it.

  "That's a problem," Kelsa said. "The knight is too well-armored for quick dissolution. Arin, can you handle the escorts while we focus on the big one?"

  C A N T R Y

  "Good enough. Torvin, with me. Essa, keep us standing."

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  The fight was harder than anything they'd faced that day. The skeletal knight moved with a speed that belied its ancient bones, its greatsword sweeping in arcs that forced Torvin to give ground. Kelsa darted around its flanks, her sword seeking gaps in the armor, but the rusted plates held better than they should have.

  Arin flowed through the common skeletons like water through rocks, his acid destroying them one by one. But the skeletons weren't passive—rusted swords scraped across his form, skeletal fingers tore at his mass even as they dissolved.

  [-6 Mass]

  [+3 Essence]

  [-4 Mass]

  [+3 Essence]

  But even as he eliminated them, more emerged from the darkness of the sub-basement stairwell. The knight was buying time for reinforcements.

  [Animated Skeleton - Level 10] x4

  T O O M A N Y

  "I see them!" Kelsa disengaged from the knight, leaving Torvin to hold it alone. "Arin, block the stairs! Don't let more through!"

  Arin surged toward the stairwell entrance, spreading his mass across the opening. Skeletons tried to push through, but he held them back, his acid eating into their bones even as they clawed at his form.

  [-15 Essence]

  [-12 Mass]

  [-8 Mass]

  The damage was significant. Multiple skeletons attacking at once meant multiple points of contact. Rusted blades and bony fingers tore chunks from his spread-thin form. He could feel himself diminishing, his mass dispersing under the assault.

  [+6 Essence]

  [+4 Essence]

  But he held. The skeletons dissolved faster than they could damage him, their animating essence flowing into his core even as their bones crumbled.

  Behind him, he heard Torvin roar as the dwarf finally found an opening, his hammer crushing the skeletal knight's skull. The ancient warrior collapsed, its magic dispersing, and the remaining skeletons seemed to hesitate.

  "Now!" Kelsa shouted. "Push through!"

  They surged down the stairs, Arin flowing ahead to scout, the others close behind. The sub-basement opened into a large chamber that had clearly been modified recently—ancient stone walls now bore strange symbols drawn in what looked disturbingly like blood, and in the center of the room...

  [Necromancer Apprentice - Level 14]

  The man was young, perhaps twenty, dressed in robes that had once been fine but were now stained with grave dirt and worse. He stood before an altar made of human bones, chanting words that hurt to hear.

  "Stop him!" Kelsa ordered. "Before he finishes whatever he's doing!"

  Arin Charged.

  [-5 Essence]

  The necromancer saw him coming and raised his hand, dark energy gathering around his fingers. A bolt of necrotic power lanced out, striking Arin's mass and causing intense pain, not physical damage, but something deeper, an attack on his essence itself.

  [-20 Essence]

  [Warning: Necrotic damage resisted - Partial immunity from Magical Resistance]

  It hurt, but he kept moving. The necromancer's eyes widened as the slime didn't stop, didn't fall, just kept coming.

  Then Arin was on him, his mass engulfing the man's arms, his acid beginning to work on flesh and bone. The man's desperate struggles tore at Arin's already depleted form.

  [-6 Mass]

  The necromancer screamed, his concentration broken, his spell fizzling into nothing.

  Kelsa's sword ended it quickly, a mercy, perhaps, given what Arin's acid was already doing.

  The effect was immediate. Throughout the cemetery, Arin could feel the necromantic energy dissipating, the connection between animator and animated severing. Somewhere above them, dozens of skeletons would be collapsing into piles of ordinary bones.

  [LEVEL UP!]

  [You have reached Level 13]

  [+1 Skill Point]

  [NEW RESISTANCE ACQUIRED: Necrotic Resistance (Tier 1)]

  The notifications washed over him even as he reformed, his body adapting to the dark magic that had tried to consume him.

  "It's over," Essa said, her voice shaky. "He was... gods, he was young."

  "Young and stupid enough to play with forces he couldn't control," Kelsa said grimly. She was examining the altar, the symbols on the walls. "This isn't advanced work. He was an apprentice, probably self-taught from forbidden texts. The cemetery was his practice ground."

  "Where did he get the knowledge?" Torvin asked. "Necromancy isn't exactly common."

  "We'll report it to the guild and the city watch. Let them investigate." Kelsa turned away from the altar. "Our job was to stop the undead activity. We've done that."

  Arin reformed himself, taking stock of the damage. The fight at the stairwell had cost him significantly, he was visibly smaller than when they'd entered the mausoleum.

  [Current Mass: 78% of base]

  [Current Essence: 89/220]

  "You took some hits down there," Essa observed, her healer's eye assessing him. "Your form is... diminished."

  N E E D E D T O H O L D T H E L I N E

  "And you did," Kelsa said. "But we should find you something to absorb before we head back. You're too depleted."

  They found what they needed in the cemetery's forgotten corners—a dead dog that had wandered in and succumbed to the necromantic energy, a few rats that had met similar fates. Not pleasant, but necessary.

  [+18 Mass]

  [+12 Essence]

  [Current Mass: 96% of base]

  Not fully restored, but functional.

  They gathered what evidence they could—the necromancer's journal, samples of the symbols, the ritual components on the altar—and made their way back to the surface. The cemetery felt different now, peaceful in a way it hadn't been when they entered. Just an old graveyard, finally at rest.

  ***

  Inspector Maldris received their report with his usual grim attitude.

  "A necromancer. In the old cemetery." He shook his head. "Should have suspected. The signs were there."

  "Self-taught, we think," Kelsa said. "His journal suggests he found texts somewhere and decided to experiment. The cemetery gave him raw materials."

  "The texts will need to be traced. If there's a source of forbidden knowledge circulating in the city..." Maldris made notes. "That's a problem for another day. Your payment is authorized, plus the bonus for eliminating the source. Well done."

  Eighty gold, plus twenty for the necromancer. One hundred gold total, split four ways.

  "We also gained significant experience," Kelsa reported once they'd left the watch headquarters. "I'm estimating a full level for everyone, maybe more for Arin given how many undead he dissolved personally."

  Arin checked his Status as they walked.

  [Name: Arin]

  [Species: Humanoid Slime]

  [Level: 13]

  [Current Form: Humanoid]

  [Mass: 112% of base]

  [Essence: 178/220]

  [Skills:]

  - Charge (Tier 1)

  - Darkvision (Tier 1)

  - Stealth (Tier 2)

  [Abilities:]

  - Absorption (Tier 2)

  - Acidic (Tier 1)

  - Form Shift (Species Trait)

  - Fire Resistance (Tier 1)

  - Ice Resistance (Tier 1)

  - Lightning Resistance (Tier 1)

  - Physical Resistance (Tier 1)

  - Shadow Resistance (Tier 2)

  - Magical Resistance (Tier 1)

  - Slime Control (Tier 1)

  - Necrotic Resistance (Tier 1) ← NEW

  [Skill Points Available: 3]

  "Level 13," he reported. "And I gained a new resistance."

  "Necrotic?" Essa guessed.

  "Yes. The necromancer's attack. My body appears to have adapted to it."

  "Your absorption ability," Kelsa said, nodding. "Still working, even at higher levels. That's good. Every new resistance makes you harder to kill."

  They returned to The Wandering Drake as evening fell, tired but satisfied. The common room was moderately busy, other adventurers sharing stories of their own contracts, Marcus moving between tables with drinks and food.

  "Good day?" the innkeeper asked as they claimed their usual table.

  "Productive," Kelsa answered. "Very productive."

  Over dinner, they discussed the day's events and planned for tomorrow.

  "Two more levels to 15," Torvin said. "At this rate, we could make it in three weeks."

  "If we keep finding contracts like this one," Essa cautioned. "High-level work isn't always available."

  "Vyrdan has no shortage of problems," Kelsa observed. "Between the sewers, the old districts, and whatever else surfaces, we'll have plenty of opportunities."

  "What about sponsors?" Arin asked. "You mentioned House Carren."

  "I've sent word that we're interested in discussing arrangements. They'll want to meet us, evaluate our capabilities." Kelsa sipped her ale. "Probably within the next week or two. By then, we might be 14 or even 15."

  "And then the Dungeon," Torvin said, something like anticipation in his voice. "Real challenges. Real rewards."

  "Real danger," Essa added quietly.

  "Aye. That too." Torvin raised his mug. "But that's what we signed up for, isn't it? To face dangers others can't, to grow stronger, to become something more than we were?"

  "To become people who can make a difference," Arin agreed. "That's what matters."

  They drank to that, four adventurers at the end of another successful day. Tomorrow would bring more contracts, more challenges, and more progress toward goals both shared and personal.

  But tonight, they could simply be a party. Friends who had fought together, who trusted each other, who were building something that mattered.

  Level 13. Two levels from the Dungeon. Closer every day to being strong enough.

  Strong enough for the Dungeon. Strong enough for whatever came after.

  Strong enough to finally seek the truth about Levi.

  The future was approaching, one level at a time.

  ?