Should have pushed Frenzy to level three. Splitting the points felt smart at the time, but now it sat in his gut like a bad decision he couldn’t undo.
He drew in a slow breath, tasting dust and old air. Fine. He’d keep Frenzy locked down whenever anyone was close. Simple enough. And when the melee weapons skill loaded into his head, muscle memory came with it, like he'd practiced for months.
What are the chances I’ll even need frenzy?
His body still felt tingly, muscles giving little twitches after the leveling surge. The extra strength settled deep, a quiet hum under his skin, and the rest of the boosts would matter soon enough. Putting the free points into intelligence, at least, he didn’t regret. At level three, when healing opened up, that choice would pay off.
With a deep breath, he sat up, and pushed himself to his feet. The others were clustered around the center sarcophagus on the left, whispering over faint lines in the stone, convinced they’d spotted some kind of hidden catch but not at all sure they were right.
Harry stepped closer. “Cedric, let me see the potions and I’ll try my new Identify skill. It only lasts a minute, so lay out the hammer and anything else we want checked.”
He glanced over at Jo. “Jojo, you want your new bow checked?”
He watched her face. A quick flicker of surprise, gone in an instant, replaced by a small smile as she slid the sleek curved bow off her back.
“Yes, Harry.” She set the bow beside the hammer and the three potions Cedric had laid out.
He looked down at the handful of items, everything they had to show for clearing the first level.
He was about to use Identify when Toby spoke up.
“Can I? There’s one more…” Toby darted back to the alcove and returned with the rusted sword they’d left behind, setting it on the floor with the rest.
System, how does identify work.
:: System: Use the ability. For the duration of the skill, all magical items you look at will emit a glow. The stronger the glow, the greater the magic. Touch an item to get detailed information.
Harry willed the skill to activate, watching with sharp interest as the potions and weapons began to light from within.
:: Skill [Identify]: Successful (Active, cost: 1 vitae) (60 seconds remaining)
V: 101 | TM: 8%
The potions gave off a weak shimmer. The hammer glowed a little brighter. The bow shone strongest of all. The sword stayed nothing but rusted iron.
He was about to comment when he noticed a faint light pulsing from one of the indentions carved into the front of the center sarcophagus. He knelt and reached out to touch it.
:: Sepulcher’s Lock: Unseal Sepulcher’s Cache using Sepulcher’s Key.
“You were right. This spot is a lock. It says we need a key.” Harry studied the shape more closely, a smooth stone loop carved into the front of the sarcophagus, faint magic pulsing off it. It looked kind of like…
“Where’s the torch? Get it, quick.”
Toby jumped up and sprinted back to the alcove.
Harry turned back to the laid-out items and tested the potions, starting with the red one.
:: Minor Heal Potion: Instantly heal minor injury and restore health.
:: Cure Disease Potion: Instantly purge one disease. May induce nausea.
Both green potions showed the same result.
He touched the hammer next, then the bow.
:: Underwyck’s Maul: Heavy warhammer of Clan Underwyck. Magically reinforced to amplify the bearer's attacks in combat. +2 Warhammer of Strength. Common grade
:: Zephyr, Storm’s Breath: Enchanted longbow. Electrifies arrows on release. With mana, conjures lightning bolt arrows. Rare grade
By then Toby was back and held the torch carefully out to Harry.
“Here you are, Sir Harry. Careful now.”
Harry grinned at Toby’s caution and reached out to touch the magically glowing torch.
:: Sepulcher’s Key: Place in Sepulcher’s Lock to unseal Sepulcher’s Cache. Imbued with Sanctified Flame. Only usable in the Crypts of The Chambers of Attrition.
:: Sanctified Flame: Burns the dead and undead with holy fire. Rare grade.
“That’s the key. See if you can fit it into the lock.”
He stood and stretched. About twenty seconds still remained on the Identify timer. He scanned the room, not expecting much, when two faint glows caught his eye. One pulsed from a spot on the center sarcophagus on the right. The other shone weakly from something small where they’d burned the Ancient Desiccants.
“There’s something small in the ash heap,” he said, pointing toward the scorched mound where the desiccants had burned.
Everyone rushed toward the ash, Stan limping after them as fast as he could. Harry crossed to the sarcophagus and touched the glowing circle.
:: Korven’s Lock: Unseal Korven’s Secret using the Obsidian Rod of the Master’s Will.
Oh no. I hope that’s nothing like Zinkle’s rod of power.
He turned to rejoin the others but they were already hurrying back. Stan hobbled in front, holding a tarnished silver ring out in the palm of his busted hand. "Found it," he said, voice gruff but pleased. Harry had just enough time to see its glow before the Identify guttered out.
Harry looked at Stan. “I can tell you the ring is magical but the timer ran out. Let’s see if we can get the cache open before I cast it again.”
Stan’s expression dipped, but he gave a small shrug and slipped the ring into his pocket.
Harry gave a quick rundown of the hammer and bow. Cedric and Jo picked them up, both looking pleased. Jo ran a hand along the smooth wooden curves, and he heard her whisper, barely audible, “Zephyr.”
Harry gathered the three potions. “We give the healing potion to Stan, right?”
Stan’s eyebrows jumped and a broad smile broke across his face.
Jo and Toby nodded, Toby slinging an arm over Stan’s shoulders.
Cedric spoke carefully. “It is our only magical healing. It would be wise to save it in the event someone is gravely hurt.” He took in the disappointed looks around him and sighed. “On the other hand, with Stan in fighting shape, we should be less likely to need it.”
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The mood lifted again and Harry held the bottle out, but paused when he realized Stan would have to grip it with his swollen, bruised hand.
He handed it to Jo instead. “Here, Jojo, you’re used to giving him his medicine.”
She took it with a grin, uncorked it, and stepped toward Stan. “Sit down. This may be uncomfortable.”
Oh sure, him they warn.
Stan eased himself down with his back against the sarcophagus. As Jo approached, he tilted his head back, mouth open.
That’s the biggest and hairiest baby bird I’ve ever seen.
Jo slowly tipped it into his mouth, careful not to spill any, and everyone crowded close. Harry more than the rest, eager to see magical healing at work.
For almost a minute nothing happened. Just when Harry thought nothing would, Stan’s eyes flew open, his face went pale, and sweat broke across his forehead. He clenched his jaw and let out a long, painful groan.
Harry could hear the bones grinding back together, sharp snaps and pops, each one matched by a spasm and a low moan from Stan.
It ended in seconds, leaving Stan slumped forward, drained, nearly lying on the floor.
Cedric and Harry moved at the same time to help him sit up.
Stan looked around, smacked his lips, and grinned. “Well, that were a right kick in the plums.”
He held out his hand and flexed it, the swelling and bruising gone. He pushed against the wrappings on the arm bound to his chest. “Come on, ‘elp me get this off.”
Toby reached for his dagger to cut the bandages off of Stan, but Harry stopped him with a scowl. “You don’t know when we’ll need them again.”
He nodded meekly. “I’m sorry, sir.”
Once Toby had unwound the bandages, Stan surged to his feet, stretching and flexing his arm, his grin growing wider and wider until Harry half expected it to wrap around the back of his head.
Stan rolled his shoulders, raised and lowered his arm, then cracked the knuckles of both hands. He turned to Harry, holding out his healed hand. “It’s better’n before I busted it on that smug chin o’ yours.”
Toby gasped. “You broke your hand punching Sir Harry?”
Stan grinned at him. “Sure, but what’s done is done. I already forgave ’im, didn’t I.”
Jo laughed. “You forgive Harry for breaking your fist with his face.”
Stan nodded. “Aye lass. Me ma always said I were too kind.”
“That was nothing short of amazing.” Harry ran his hands over Stan’s arm, lifting and bending it. He took his formerly broken hand in both of his, extending and curling the fingers, turning it over to check both sides. He stepped back, shaking his head. “Unbelievable.”
Stan struck a heroic pose. “Thank ye.”
Harry shook his head. “I’m going to check the rooms one more time while you open the cache.”
They gathered back around Toby, who knelt with the torch in front of the sarcophagus, while Harry went on one last rat hunt. Across all six rooms he found only three scorched, limping rodents. Almost no traces in the walls. The fire had wiped out nearly everything he’d missed.
V: 108 | TM: 2%
When he rejoined the others, they had just pushed the sarcophagus aside. It slid easily on a pivot, revealing a short flight of steps leading down into a small chamber.
They all looked at Harry expectantly.
“Hey, I have an idea. How about I go check it out.”
Jo and Toby traded sheepish grins, but Cedric nodded seriously. “Aye, Sir Harold. That seems most practical.”
Toby held the magic torch out with an uncertain look, but Harry waved him off and walked carefully down the stairs, the chamber opening up around him.
It was large, maybe twenty feet square, and stacked with gear. When his foot touched the landing, a single torch flared to life. Armor, weapons, clothes, and scattered gear lay in loose piles across the floor. Up close he saw most of it was damaged and stained with dried blood. One corner held a heap of empty, broken glass vials. Another had a tall stack of backpacks, blankets, and bedrolls.
System, could this be from the groups that came before us?
:: System: Affirmative. Probability is high.
Harry retreated up the stairs and explained what he’d found. He asked Stan for the ring, went back down, and cast Identify again.
The ring lit with a faint glow.
:: Ring of Steady Grip: Prevents the wearer from accidentally dropping held items. Strength +1. Common grade.
He looked around the room. Nothing else glowed.
Back up the stairs, Harry checked in with Jo and Cedric. “You guys want to move everything up here where we can go through it while I scout the next level?”
“Sounds good,” Jo nodded and glanced at Cedric.
Cedric shrugged, “If nothing else, we should find gear that will fit Constantine.”
“Constantine?” Harry looked at him.
Jo sighed. “He means Stan.”
“Constantine?”
“You said that.”
“Yeah, but Constantine?”
“Go check the next floor, Harry.”
“Fine, I’m going. Don’t boil me nuts.”
Harry laughed at Jo’s look, pretending she was offended, as he strapped on his shield, grabbed his spear, and headed for the stairs leading down to level two.
He crossed the chamber and approached the arched opening at the far end. Beyond it, the narrow stairwell led down.
Just before he stepped through Toby called after him, "Be careful, Sir Harry!"
He turned back, waved, and started cautiously down the hall toward the stairs.
It was a single flight, long and steep, the walls lined with lit torches like those above. Their flickering glow cast long, restless shadows ahead of him.
At the bottom, he came to a stone wall and a plain wooden door.
He paused. No movement beyond. No heartbeat. No living presence.
He tested the handle, unlocked. It creaked as it swung open.
He leaned in, peering through the doorway.
The room beyond was large and dim. In the center stood a massive stone table, or maybe an altar. A body lay atop it, nude with a pile of gear on the floor. It looked recent but wasn't rotting like the bodies left in the side rooms upstairs. The skin was pale and leathery, pulled tight across the bones, eyes sunken, lips drawn back to expose dry gums and clean white teeth. The body gave off a sharp mix of spice and an acrid chemical smell.
Harry stepped inside and torches in scattered wall sconces flickered to life. Shadows stretched and danced across every surface. The walls and floor were marked with etchings, looping lines and sharp-angled symbols.
To either side of the doorway, large shelves lined the walls. About half of them held bodies, each one resembling the one on the altar except they were dressed, wearing armor or robes.
He moved farther into the room. Across from where he entered, another door waited.
Harry did a quick search. In one corner, a table held several small barrels and boxes, most nearly empty. The boxes carried traces of sharp-smelling spices, while a bit of cloudy liquid with an oily shimmer clung to the bottoms of the barrels. Laid out beside them were slender metal hooks, curved blades, and long bronze tools with flattened ends.
I swear I've seen these in documentaries about mummies.
He heard movement behind him and spun around just in time to see the opposite door swing open.
Harry stepped back, raising the spear.
Three men entered.
The one in the center was older, dressed in plain black robes. He held a short, black rod topped with a large blue gem. Flanking him were two younger men, each carrying a container, one a large box, the other a small barrel. Both had swords and daggers sheathed at their sides. Soldiers, or something close to it.
They moved a few steps into the room before spotting him. All three froze.
Harry gave a small nod. “Hello?”
The robed man’s voice came sharp. “Who are you?”
The two guards dropped their loads. The barrel hit hard, split, and spilled cloudy liquid across the floor. Both men stepped wide and drew their blades.
“Harold,” Harry said. “But everyone calls me Harry.”
The man blinked. “I don’t care what your name is. How did you get down here?”
Harry gestured vaguely toward the door he came in. “Zinkle sent us.”
“Us? There are more of you then?”
Harry frowned. "Wait, slow down. Who are you?"
The man started to speak, “How did you get past the…” then stopped. His free hand moved in a sudden, practiced motion. His eyes widened.
“Vampire?!”
“Hold on,” Harry said. “It’s not how it looks.”
Instead of answering, he raised his rod and began chanting.
The gem lit up, glowing blue. Harry’s gaze snapped to it.
Careful, Harry. These are probably…
He blinked. The thought slipped away, swallowed by the light.
The chanting continued. The gem pulsed, brighter with each beat.
:: System: [Willpower Check] failed.
Harry couldn’t look away. The spear slipped from his hands and rattled on the stone floor.
***
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