The wall around the palace complex was significantly larger up close than it appeared when I was looking at it from a distance. Even the ruined section we found involved more effort to clamber over than I had expected, as the individual stones used to build the wall were as long as I was tall.

  It took us a few minutes, but we managed to navigate the crumbling mess without any injuries and planted our feet on the other side of the wall.

  The first sign of trouble appeared before we had made it ten steps. Howls echoed in the distance and were answered by more from the other side of the courtyard. They yapped like coyotes on the hunt, and there was little doubt what their prey was.

  “Tighten up!” Fela yelled. “Whatever’s making that racket will be on us soon.”

  We formed a circle, facing outwards, ready to defend against what was coming. It didn’t take long to spot the source of the commotion in the distance with my enhanced night vision. A pack of canines was heading our way. There were at least a dozen, but I couldn’t determine the breed. Most likely, they were something entirely new, cooked up by the Master Control Intelligence. The dogs had short, with mangy hair and were about twice the size of the average coyote.

  They yipped and howled as they approached, and a second pack joined in from the opposite direction. Within a minute, we were surrounded by at least thirty of them, but they hung back in the shadows, stalking about and sizing up our group.

  I swallowed nervously. We could defeat them, I had no doubt, but with their numbers, it wasn’t likely to be an easy fight.

  Their yips changed in tone and frequency as they cautiously closed in on our group. When they were about twenty feet away, they began to circle us, looking for the weakest of us to pick off from the group.

  The largest dog, the alpha, let out a shrill howl, and the other dogs tightened their net around us. They were going to make their move soon.

  I pulled out a dagger, preparing to throw it at the nearest mutt, but the alpha froze in place, interrupting their meticulous scrutiny of our group. The alpha’s arrest caused some minor chaos among the other dogs, who lost their rhythm when their leader stopped.

  The alpha took a few steps toward us and let out another howl, this one was different in a way I couldn’t describe. Then, the alpha turned away and trotted off as if we weren’t worth the effort. The other dogs peeled away, following behind their leader. Only when they were a safe distance away and crawling back over the rocky incline they had come down from did our group relax.

  “Why didn’t they attack us?” Yurian asked.

  His question had only one possible answer in my mind. “Ask Kitz.” I pointed to our young, resident warg who was beaming from ear to ear.

  “You stopped them?” Yurian asked Kitz. “I had no idea a warg could compel so many animals at once.”

  “I didn’t,” Kitz said. “I just asked the big one to go away. He was actually pretty nice, just really hungry, but I convinced him that we weren’t worth the effort.”

  Yurian laughed loudly. “Amazing. Perhaps, Ersabet’s recruitment of humans to her adventuring party isn’t as crazy as it seems.”

  “Don’t go getting any ideas,” Mercella said. “Our party is full.”

  Ignoring Mercella’s comment, Yurian bowed to Kitz. “Thank you for your assistance with those beasts. That was sure to have been a nasty fight.”

  “You’re welcome,” Kitz said. Petrie landed on his shoulder, and Kitz gave him a treat from his pocket.

  “Let’s keep moving,” Fela said. She took a step but stopped and turned her head back. “Good work, child.”

  We followed a wide, deteriorated brick road to the distant palace. Dead gardens lined our path; the wilted flowers and dead trees set an ominous tone. Elaborate fountains were now in ruins, dry husks of what they had once been. A twenty-foot-tall statue on my left looked strangely familiar, and I fell back and pulled Tabby aside.

  “Does that statue look familiar?” I whispered to her

  She looked at it, and her eyes lit with recognition. “That’s Anubis. The ancient Egyptian god of the afterlife and protector of the dead. Oh, and he’s the god of funerary rites, AKA, mummification.”

  “I have a feeling your mummy theory is going to turn out to be horrifyingly correct.”

  She nudged me with an elbow and whispered. “Let’s Scooby Doo this shit.”

  I laughed and gave her a side hug for good luck before trotting back to the front, first bumping Kitz and Delen along the way.

  “Did I miss anything?” I asked Ersabet after falling alongside her.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “I am debating whether it would be worthwhile to explore the area before entering the palace,” she said. “Fela, what say you?”

  “Don’t threaten me with a good time. I’m sure there’s something valuable in there.” She pointed to a small cube-shaped building centered between four pillars.

  “It looks like a mausoleum,” Ersabet said.

  “I don’t know what it is,” Fela replied. “But we’re going to bust it open.” She turned back to share the news with the group. “Any objections?”

  There were none.

  It didn’t take long to reach the odd building. It was built on raised land, and we had to climb a bit to reach it. We carefully navigated a few crumbling steps up to it. I was sure that there would be some sort of monster awaiting us, but when we reached it, I saw nothing dangerous. Just to be sure, I checked my mini-map and didn’t see any nearby monsters. There were none, and even if there were, it would have been unwise for me to notify anyone, as monster-tracking radar is not something an NPC would have access to.

  “Mercella,” Fela called, “Would you be a dear and bust open that big stone box. Surely there’s something valuable inside. Everyone, stay on your guard. We’re just as likely to find trouble as we are treasure.”

  Mercella marched to the cube, and I wondered why she, of all people, had been selected for this. I hadn’t seen her use many of her abilities, so I didn’t know what to expect.

  She walked up to the stone box and stopped about a foot away from it. Then, she pulled her arm back like she was going to throw a punch. Her fist was a blur as it shot forward, blasting through the wall in an explosion of stone and dust. When the dust cleared, a hole big enough for any man to walk through was revealed.

  Mercella turned to her friends with a smug look on her face. That smug look was wiped away when a low, guttural groan sounded from within the cube.

  She stepped back a few paces before pulling out her sword. Latro ran to join her, and the two faced down whatever was in the mausoleum.

  I was perfectly happy to stay where I was and let them handle whatever ungodly creature was about to emerge from the dusty darkness. They didn’t have to wait long to meet their opponent as a long-fingered, bony hand grasped the edge of the opening.

  Latro conjured one of his green spears and launched it into the hole. It hit its mark, and the bony hand was violently yanked back into the darkness. The moaning turned into a rasp, and then all went silent. The smile on Latro’s face annoyed me, but I had to respect his power. Whatever that thing was, it was surely dead.

  Latro walked to the destroyed tomb and peered inside. Then, he clambered in. “There’s nothing but a bunch of old and broken relics in here!” His voice echoed from inside the mausoleum.

  “Check everything,” Mercella shouted. “I’ll come help.”

  We all waited while they searched inside the mausoleum. I desperately wanted to go inside and see for myself, but two were more than enough to search the relatively small building. Plus, I was supposed to be an NPC who minded his place. The loot was for the players, not me.

  There was a shout from inside, and the interior lit with a green light. Then, Mercella let out a horrifying scream and came tumbling out of the hole, her left hand burning with green flame. She waved it back and forth, but the flame persisted, and if anything, intensified. Her howls of pain were relentless, and Damine ran to her, blanket in hand. He tossed it over her flaming appendage and wrapped it tight, attempting to smother the flame, but it burned through the blanket in seconds.

  Fela was there next with a water skin. She slashed it open to drench the flames, but it made no difference. Mercella’s screams continued as her panic began to spread to those around her.

  Latro came up beside her, and before anyone could stop him, he swung his sword and severed her hand. The green flame flickered as it faded away, leaving nothing but charred bone behind.

  Mercella fell to her knees, and her screams turned into whimpers as she cradled her arm. “Thank you,” she said, lips trembling. “Thank you.”

  Latro bent down to her and pulled something out of his inventory. With practiced movements, he applied a tourniquet to her arm, a few inches above her stump.

  “We should cauterize the wound,” he said. “Damine, could you assist?”

  Damine pulled out his blade with one hand and produced a ball of fire in the other. The fireball hovered an inch above his palm, the flames dancing upward, searching for something to burn. It was very likely that Damine could throw that ball of fire if he wanted to, but this time, it served a different purpose. He held his blade over the flame and moved it gently back and forth. When it became red hot, he tossed it to Latro, who caught it deftly.

  Latro gave Mercella a piece of leather to bite down on before applying the scorching blade to her bloody stump. She screamed through the leather as he pressed the blade against her for a long three seconds.

  “What in the world just happened?” Tabby said quietly.

  “I haven’t the faintest idea,” I replied.

  “I theorize that she touched a cursed object,” Ersabet said. “That was no ordinary trap. There was magic at work with those flames.”

  “Bingo,” Val said.

  “V concurs,” I whispered. “Let’s go ask them. Well, you should go ask them, while we stand behind you and listen.”

  As we walked closer, Fela put a comforting hand on Mercella’s shoulder, but she shook it off and glared at Fela.

  “You did this,” Mercella said through gritted teeth. “You ordered me to open that fucking crypt!”

  Fela stepped back and crossed her arms. “I asked you to open that fucking crypt, and you did so on your own free will. Was it I who forced you to crawl into it? You were eager to pocket the best items, so don’t blame me.”

  Mercella was cowed by the berating, and she chose to sulk rather than reply.

  “She opened something she shouldn’t have,” Latro said, his laconic voice making it sound like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  Fela frowned. “Did you inspect it first?” she asked Mercella.

  Mercella didn’t reply, which meant ‘no.’

  Fela laughed. “You forget one of the most basic tenets of looting, and blame me? Everyone knows to inspect any relics before you go messing around with them.”

  “Come now, Fela,” Latro said. “Mistakes happen. She’s in enough pain already. You need not torment her further.”

  He bent down and put her good arm over his shoulder and helped her to her feet.

  “I’m sorry, Mercella,” Fela said. “Latro’s right. I shouldn’t have scolded you. We all make mistakes. Take this.” Fela produced a small vial of red liquid and uncorked it before handing it to Mercella, who downed it all in a single gulp.

  She closed her eyes and sighed as the cauterized skin of her stump started to change color, as the healing potion worked its magic.

  “Can you continue?” Fela asked.

  The fierce expression on Mercella’s face made it clear she not only could but insisted upon it. “I’ve had enough of this dungeon. Let’s speedrun this shit.”