The skeletons lunged forward. Some of them tripped over one and other, while some reached Jason and the others, swinging their blades wildly.

  “Sol, Luna!” Hearing their names, the wolves leapt forward. Their thick fur protected them from the wild, aimless swings of the skeletons as they rushed forward, knocking their lower bodies off. Bones scattered all over the wide corridor while Jason and the others just defended against the skeletons until Sol and Luna’s rampage left most of them scattered.

  The crow let out another, sharper cry. Alaric’s gaze turned towards it again. Then, he looked at the skeletons slowly recovering. While most of them lacked at least a few bones, they still managed to get back up on their feet – or hands – and launched a second attack.

  “Ava.” He glanced at her after making sure Sol, Luna and the guys were capable of easily taking care of the skeletons. “Do you still have that bow?” She nodded.

  “There’s a crow up there. Can you shoot it?”

  The young woman raised an eyebrow. “… I can.” She looked at him as if she wanted to ask something, but then she slowly turned to the side. The blade in her hands vanished, replaced by a bow and arrow. She drew the bow, aimed at the bird and released the arrow in the blink of an eye.

  It whistled in the air. The crow beat its wings, letting a third cry – one of pain. The arrow grazed the side of its wing and continued flying until it hit the vaulted ceiling. A loud tock rang. The crow flew down, its wounded wing beating oddly. It finally landed right in front of the large door.

  Another cry sounded.

  “Luna – the crow!” Alaric shouted as he kicked the ground. He ran through the small horde of skeletons, ducking under a few of their poorly aimed strikes. His gaze fixed on the crow, he broke through the chaos just in time to see the large door creak open. The crow hopped through, dragging its wounded wing behind it.

  You’re not getting away! He dashed forward and slammed his shoulder against the door as it began to close. Despite using all his strength, he couldn’t open it further.

  Ava ran across the corridor, easily evading the skeletons. Her gaze glimmered with a hint of excitement as she reached him. She spun around, leaned her back against the slowly closing door and planted her feet to the ground.

  The door came to a halt, then slowly began to open as she pushed. Seeing his bewildered gaze, she smirked. “The fish monster in the brine spring gave a big boost.”

  “Clearly.” Alaric couldn’t help but chuckle. They pushed the door until there was a wide enough gap for someone to pass.

  “Go and kill whatever is pushing the bloody door.” Ava hissed through gritted teeth.

  He slipped through the gap with ease, then spun around to come face to face with a large skull. There was still some skin on it, albeit rotten. And it was about as big as his chest. It was connected to half a spine, and the left collarbone. A single arm was leaning against the door, pushing.

  Fuck! He gasped, then slammed his blade against the cracked collarbone without hesitation. The blade hit the bone with a loud tock, then a crack echoed as the bone shattered. The arm fell on the floor, and the door swung open fast, slamming against the gigantic skull.

  Ava rushed inside, then jumped back like a startled cat. “Bloody hell!” She exclaimed wide eyed, looking at the large skull.

  It opened and closed its jaw almost as if it wanted to bite them. Just looking at it was unnerving.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Jason!” Ava shouted a moment later. The young man dashed through the door, saw the gigantic skull, flinched, then slammed his halberd onto its forehead almost instinctively. It bounced off the skull’s forehead, but cracks began to appear where he hit it. The skull’s jaw opened and closed again. The arm Alaric cut off flailed wildly.

  Oh – the crow. He stepped away from the skull as he remembered why they barged in here in the first place. He turned his gaze to his surroundings.

  It was a rather large, round chamber with a high, vaulted ceiling. Tinted glass windows decorated the walls, though not all of them survived the passage of time. The floor tiles were cracked, weathered and damaged, partly covered by remnants of a once beautiful rug.

  His gaze landed on the odd structure at the centre of the room. At first glance it looked like a rather fancy lectern carved from stone. But the longer he looked at it, the more something seemed off. It was carved from an off-white, almost yellow stone, and its texture seemed almost too smooth.

  His gaze then turned to the crow. It had hopped onto the lectern, its green eyes watching him quietly.

  What are you? He slowly approached as the others finally took care of the skeletons and rushed into the room. Luna let out a low, guttural growl while Sol sniffed the air. Alaric glanced at them before moving closer to the lectern. His heartbeat quickened. Did the lectern hold a mana core? Had he found what he needed to survive the Profaned Legion’s challenge?

  “What happened here?” A somewhat muffled voice, raspy and dry, rang from the other side of the door they just stepped through. “Again?” The same voice continued, growing closer. Footsteps echoed in the silence as the door creaked open, and a small figure stepped inside.

  The figure stopped mid-step. It was a short, flimsy man walking with a hunched back. He walked with a cane and carried a small satchel. The underside of the satchel was dark, almost as if it was wet. He raised his bushy, white eyebrows, and looked at Jason and the others. “Two girls and five boys.” He then looked at Alaric and the wolves. “One more, and two wolves. Are you the rascals who thrashed this place a while back? Did you come back for more?” His voice grew louder with each word that left his lips. His knuckles turned white as he tightened his grasp on the handle of his cane.

  “Uh,” Lochlan glanced at Alaric with a befuddled expression. “Sorry… who are you?”

  “Answer the damn question, kid!” The man shouted, waving his cane towards Lochlan. “Have some respect!”

  What? Alaric glanced at the smashed skull next to the door. Was this the necromancer? An old, angry man waving his cane around?

  Lochlan flinched. “Well, we came to explore. And skeletons attacked us. Are you controlling them?”

  The old man scoffed. “Of course I’m controlling them!” He walked past the group and stopped a few steps away from Alaric. His eyes narrowed first, then widened. “Mark of the Chthonian. So the Witch is gone.” His lips curled up. “The question then becomes,” he glanced at Luna and Sol. “Are you here to finish what she started, or is it truly just exploration?”

  “What did she start?” All she had written in her notes about this place was that it might hold a mana core. Never had she mentioned this old man, or any unfinished business with him.

  “Oh, we’ve had a bit of a rivalry going on. You see,” he pointed at the wolves. “That mark is quite valuable, and she didn’t earn it. She stole it.” He approached the lectern, put the satchel down then pet the crow. “I disagreed with her methods. The gods like to punish the masses for the sins of one. And the Chthonian is hardly a merciful god.” He shrugged. “She didn’t listen. It wasn’t long before the heavenly host paid this place a visit.” He made a vague gesture pointing at their surrounds. It was clear he wasn’t just talking about this building.

  He let out a laugh. His voice raspy and dry, he smirked. “She had to go back to slumber after that. Her little vampire self couldn’t survive without her blood bags.” He glanced at the others. “I mean people,” he clarified. “You seriously didn’t know any of that?”

  They shook their heads. “In all honesty, we just came here to find a way to survive the Profaned Legion.” Jason said with a sigh. “And we came expecting a fight. Not a conversation. So excuse our confusion.”

  The man chuckled. “Why would I fight you? I’ve got no business with the living.” He turned his gaze to Alaric. “How did you get the mark?”

  “A blessing from the Chthonian. Because I killed the Witch.”

  “Oh, so you got it the right way. That’s why it’s actually working for you. She couldn’t make good use of it, you see. She tried oh so hard, but it always failed. She never accepted her theft was the reason.” He shook his head and closed his eyes. “She was a good friend once. But after the heavenly host cleansed this place to reclaim the souls they nurtured, she turned on me. I’ll drink to her memory.” He paused. “When I find something to drink.” He added with quite visible regret. “Anyways. I’d appreciate it if you younglings stopped smashing my skeletons. Surely you noticed, but they’re not here to fight. If they were… well, you would have joined them by now.” He smirked.