The barrier shimmered and crackled with power.
Through the blue haze of its surface Reven could see Krassner’s movements
becoming more urgent as he trailed his arms through the air and increased the tempo
of his chant. Past Krassner he spotted a balcony that overlooked the chamber
and a plan began to form. A runner was sent back to the rest of the party.
Missner would be needed to bring down the barrier but as time was growing
short, Reven, Agrippa and three of the mercenary soldiers would try and circle
round and reach the balcony. Borengar would stay with the rest of the troops
should the barrier falter or fail for any reason. Whatever Krassner was up to
it was obvious it was nearing its crescendo.
Reven and his team moved back up the corridor and
took the first tunnel that branched off of it. Frustratingly the passage angled
down even further and seemed to stretch on without end. He sent Agrippa and two
of the men back with the task of scouting out another corridor. Reven and the
remaining mercenary pushed on into the gloom and before long they were ankle
deep in stagnant water. The further they went the deeper the water got. The
tunnel opened out into a vast cavern, the water coming from what appeared to be
a lake that stretched the length of the cavern. Water poured into it from
waterfalls that spouted from the ceiling above. Reven stumbled and splashed
into the water as the floor of the passageway ended abruptly and he was forced
to swim to stay afloat. The mercenary stood in the passageway waiting for
instruction. Reven’s attention was drawn deep into the water where he saw a
pale light a way ahead of him beneath the far side of the cavern. Its cold blue
glow reminded him of Krassner’s magical barrier and he called out to the
soldier telling him to keep an eye out whilst he dived to investigate.
Reven pushed beneath the water with lungs full of
air. He kicked toward the light, his eyes stinging from the rank water. His
lungs started to burn as he neared the light and he made out an opening that
the light was spilling out of. A current tugged at him as he made to turn back
to the surface. It tugged at him more urgently as he kicked out against it, the
strain forcing the air from his lungs. Reven knew he was fighting a losing
battle so he ceased his struggle and let the water carry him away.
He rushed through a rough tunnel that the light
spilled from, his pace quickened. His lungs were screaming for air and his
chest burnt, hungering for breath. The water rushed quicker and quicker, forcing
him through the tunnel. The rock of the walls ripped at his skin and consciousness
started slipping from his grasp. Before he blacked out the water around him
disappeared as he was ejected into the air. The tunnel spouted water from a
waterfall that fed a stream of water. Reven landed roughly on the bank but
ignored the pain as he gulped in air. His head swam but he pushed himself to
his feet to try and orientate himself as fast as he could. The chamber he was
in was vast and stretched off into a blue haze of light. The ground was
littered with bones, some human, and some goblinoid. He looked up and could see
what looked to be a bridge spanning the top of the space, this was the source
of the light and with that light came the incessant chanting of Krassner.
As Reven moved through the detritus of the dead something in
the air changed. The blue light blinked out leaving Reven in darkness but then
sprang back to life in the form of trailing snakes of light. They burrowed into
the bones all over the vast cavern, worming through eyeless, hollow skulls and entwining
themselves around spines, legs and arms. Reven kicked bones away from him
wherever he could as the tendrils of light started pulling them together into horrible
parodies of bodies. All around him magical constructs stood up on shaky bone legs,
their gazes turned up toward the source of their new found life; Krassner.
Reven unsheathed Bloodthirster and immediately drew the attention of the misshapen
horde around him. They hobbled toward him, bones of goblins and men alike holding
them up. They made no sound as they approached Reven who had backed up to the
gushing stream. Some armed themselves with broken bones they scooped up as they
made their way toward their target. They moved as one. They were one. The
undead had risen.
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