Chapter 280 - The Product of Magical Research

I had a version of this finished yesterday but decided I wanted to add another 600 words or so to end it in a better spot. Hope you enjoy!

The tunnel levelled out quickly, becoming a maze of ancient passageways. Hump glanced up at the supporting beams nervously. The wood was old and grey enough that he feared talking too loudly might be enough to bring them down. It was old. So old, he suspected the previous occupants of Estora’s palace probably had them built, not the lich. The old man would have known who that was, but Hump’s history was far from good enough for that.

They walked in silence, the soft echo of Hump’s and Aurora’s feet their only company. Hump did his best to keep the noise down, channelling essence into the Echoless Passage enchantment he’d fixed to his shoes, but there was no hiding it in these tunnels.

His position remained at the rear of the party alongside Celaine. Ashera took the lead now, turning through the dark tunnels with determined certainty. Hump could almost believe she knew where she was going… almost.

A tremor shook the room followed by a distant boom. Dust crumbled from stone roof of the tunnel, powdering their heads. Celaine gripped Hump’s arm tightly, staring up at it, her breathing quickening.

“Will Keeper Yunillia be alright?” Glys asked. The shaman was the youngest of the Chosen selected to come with them.

“If our First Keeper could lose to a bunch of the lich’s servants we’d have been screwed from the start,” Finnian said.

“Trust in her.” Ashera pressed a fist to her heart. “Lady Owalyn is with us on this great hunt. Lia may have fallen, but do not forget, it is more than just Yunillia up there. The other keepers and Ado will be drawn to the storm. There is much that can still happen before the day is over.”

It wasn’t her defeat that Hump was worried about. Even from this distance, he could sense the touch of Irila in Yunillia’s power. He saw it through the stone floor in the distance—a mist of her vibrant white and blue essence like lightning without the clouds, yet amongst it were streaks of black. Surely Ashera could see it too, yet she seemed so confident. All Hump could do was cross his fingers that her trust was not misplaced and continue forward.

Occasionally they’d find a doorway or staircase that led back to the ground floor of the palace. Hump’s best guess that this had originally been either an escape passage or smuggling route, though he neither were good explanations for the complexity of the tunnels. Whatever the case, it now made for the perfect place for Irila to hide her operation. He wondered how many years she’d spent here. Centuries? Perhaps even longer.

Hump stopped as he detected something beneath them with his Spirit Sight. It was distant and faint. In the daylight, he’d have been hard pressed to find it at all, but down in the tunnels where there was nothing but shadow it stood out like flakes of glowing dust. It was vast array of power—a cluster of dark purple gathered in the deeps. It was dense enough even from this distance to make Hump nervous, but knowing where Ashera was working toward at least gave him a sense of direction. The only problem was the direction was… down.

Why would an escape passage or smuggling route lead so deep? he wondered. Did the lich build this place after all?

“What is that smell?” Finnian asked.

Hump breathed, frowning as he caught a whiff of potent herbs. Soon, they reached an old door of dark wood. Unlike the supporting beams and doorways leading back into the palace, this door didn’t show the same signs of wear. Rather, it appeared old but sturdy.

“Ready yourselves,” Ashera said, stepping up to it.

Her blessings manifested from her hand in a mist of bronze light, spreading into the metal handle. It shattered easily and she pushed it open with a creak that echoed through the tunnel. Stairs descended into the depths from there.

“Some light,” Ashera said.

Hump held up his staff. “Light.”

He used only a sliver of essence, keeping it dull as he cast the gentle glow downward. It was a staircase of about fifty stone steps.

“These walls are perfectly smooth,” Hump said. “Magic must have built this.”

“It did,” Ashera said. “Though no magic of humans.”

“The lich did this?” Hump asked, surprised.

Ashera shook her head. “I’m surprised you didn’t notice. The City of Estora was built atop a defeated dungeon. This entire maze of tunnels is dungeon made.”

Suddenly it all made sense. Where better for a lich to build her lair?

At the bottom of the staircase they found a long corridor. There was a door to the right, this one clearly old and unused. Ashera jerked her head toward it and Finnian opened it, Nascal close behind him as the two swept the room and found it empty. Ashera marched on, turning a corner in the tunnel. Up ahead, they came to a larger door, this one made of metal and radiating the lich’s essence. She’d enchanted it, though Hump saw no runes.

Here, the herbal scent was even stronger, almost overpoweringly so.

“I smell death beyond here,” Celaine said.

“All I smell are herbs,” Nascal said.

Celaine shook her head. “It’s covering up the rot. There is something foul in there, I am certain of it.”

“Everything about this place is foul,” Ashera said. “All of you, be ready.”

“Is the lich in there?” Finnian asked.

“I don’t think so,” Ashera said. “She’s powerful though—more powerful than me. She may be able to hide from my sight. We’ll find out soon enough. Best we just get this over with.”

The warrior reached for the door handle when Walt shouted in Hump’s mind. “Watch out!”

Hump snapped his arm up, grabbing her wrist and yanking it back as the handle came to life. It screamed, white teeth showing in a tiny mouth as the handle tried to bite at Ashera’s fingers. The toothy creature wailed madly like some demon-possessed object.

Holding up his staff, Hump shone light over it, revealing the fleshy colour of the handle, almost like oiled leather.

A pulse spread from Ashera’s hand and cracks formed over the handle. The creature died instantly, and Ashera turned to Hump. “It seems even here my sight is failing me. My thanks, wizard.”

Hump nodded. “Of course.” Then in his head he said, “Nice catch, Walt.”

“There’s a lot more where that came from, kid. Best not to touch anything.”

Hump frowned. “I’m sensing more enchantments in the room. We’re going to need to proceed carefully inside.”

“Unbelievable!” Hump could hear Walt’s scowl. “You’re taking all my credit.”

Hump ignored the spirit, getting into position as Nascal prepared to breach the room. He’d put his sword away and wielded his shield alone, covering most of his body. The handle went down in one smooth motion, then the door slid open silently.

Inside, two empty tables took up the central floor space. Surrounding them was a library of books, alchemical components, cabinets, and papers. Hump couldn’t help but be curious as he cast his gaze around. Did this all belong to Lich Queen Irila? If so, this might just be the knowledge of hundreds of years of magical experiments. A deep yearning filled him as he craved a chance to explore what secrets were held here. He wondered at the many potion vials filled with glowing and colourful liquids, and the stench of herbs that filled the room, so pungent it overwhelmed his nose like he’d breathed in some chemical gas.

“I can smell the rot too now,” Finnian said. “There’s something dead here.”

Forgetting his curiosity, Hump readied his essence and concentrated on his Spirit Sight, examining the room for any more traps the lich might have for them. They searched through the room, moving forward toward another wide doorway at the end of it. Hump checked every fixture in the room—every handle, every essence torch—searching for more fleshy contraptions that might come to life and attack him. He was near the door at the other end of the room when Aurora started to growl.

He turned to see the dragon hunched forward, snarling toward a shadowy section of the stone chamber, tail whipping angrily behind her. A dull, heavy thump came from the shadow, then a groan.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Two grey skinned figures emerged from the darkness. Each of them towered taller than any human. The two creatures weren’t quite identical. One had a giant hand with long, dagger-like nails, while the other had an arm replaced from the elbow with a sword blade. Patches of different patterned fur spotted their bodies.

Scales of yellow-stained bone covered parts of their grey skin like armour. With each step, they groaned through cold, blue lips as if in agony. Red-brown gunk leaked from stitches across their body where it looked like parts of different creatures had been attached together. Their flesh was mottled with red lumps, like growths pressed to the surface of their taut skin. In places, Hump could see the blood pumping through their arteries, a hint of purple to the fluid inside.

Hump took a step back, readying his essence, a pulse of fear running through him. Despite their hideous appearance, it was their eyes that frightened him. Human eyes that stared with wide desperation and pain.

Was this the product of Irila’s research? Centuries dedicated to creating abominations such as these? The books in the room no longer seemed quite as intriguing if this was the kind of secret they contained.

“Mother’s mercy,” Glys whispered. “What… are they?”

“More of the lich’s evil magic,” Finnian snarled, taking a step toward them, his sword ready.

“You don’t think they were once people, do you?” Celaine said. “Those eyes…”

“Whatever they once were doesn’t matter,” Ashera interrupted. “If they were once people, then we shall put their poor spirits to rest. Take up your positions. If the Lich Queen doesn’t know we’re here yet, she will soon.”

Hump took his own position at the centre of their group, right beside Glys. He readied his power, prepared to protect the shaman if the creatures managed to break through their ranks.

“Finnian, Hump, I want the two of you to distract the left creature,” Ashera said. “We’ll kill the one on the right and then join you to finish it off. There’s not enough space in here, so we’ll need Aurora to remain back and out of the way.”

“Got it,” Finnian said. “Wizard, I’ll force it up against the wall. Can you hold it there with your shield spell?”

“No problem.” It was a simple but effective plan—split up the enemy and then focus them down one by one.

The monsters must have picked up on their building essence, as their lulling stride changed. A savagery took over their eyes, and the rage Hump was familiar with took over.

“Celaine, draw the right one’s attention and pull it toward the centre of the room,” Ashera said. “Nascal, I want you in front of it. Keep it back with your shield. Varesha, do what damage you can from its flank. When the moment comes, I’ll kill it myself.”

They moved immediately, Celaine loosing arrows into the right creature, drawing it away as Finnian charged the one of the right, hammering at it with his sword. A storm of wind blasted through the chamber, forcing it back with hammering blows. It fought back fiercely but it was no match for Finnian’s strength.

Suddenly, Finnian leapt back. “Now!”

“Shield,” Hump said, his barrier forming before him. He smashed the creature back against the stone wall, pressing into it with his weight, leveraged through the spell, pinning it there. It groaned and flailed frantically, trying to break free, but Hump only threw more essence into his spell, adding weight and stopping power until he was certain the creature would not force him off.

Besides Hump, Finnian gathered his blessings, a howling gale of wind building around his sword.

“What are you doing?” Hump asked through gritted teeth.

“Just hold it there,” Finnian said. “I’m going to finish this.”

“That wasn’t the plan.”

“Plans change.”

Finnian dashed forward, sword trailing behind him, a line of white wind carving through the air like a streak of a cloud. He glanced to his left, where the other monster was already pinned down and Ashera was preparing to finish it off. These creatures were powerful, but not compared to their party. Finnian would be fine.

Only… he’d called upon too much power. Hump saw it clearly with his Spirit Eye—a vortex of energy looking for any excuse to explode like the hurricane it was. It was reckless, but better to follow a reckless action together than to split the team’s focus, so Hump decided to play his part.

Just as Finnian got into range, he withdrew the essence from his Shield, drawing it back into him like a deep breath. The barrier dropped, freeing the monster briefly. It stumbled, caught off guard by the release, and then Finnian was there.

His sword hissed as it carved a path through the air. For a second, Hump thought he’d missed, when a red line opened across the creature’s throat. Slowly, its head fell from its body, and then the creature toppled over entirely.

“There,” Finnian said. “Wasn’t that—”

“Something’s happening,” Walt said.

Hump sensed it too. A building essence from somewhere behind them.

“We’ve set off a trap,” Hump shouted.

A dense burst of essence filled the centre of the room, shining like a beacon beneath the floor. Hump raised another shield a moment before the essence erupted.

The room rocked. A boom filled it, shaking Hump to his core. He was blown from his feet and felt the ground come up beneath him, but still he threw essence into the spell. Beyond, he sensed the lich’s power exploding from the creature’s core. He gasped as his Shield cracked, essence leaking from it as he burned through more trying to hold it in place. Gritting his teeth, his spell held, the attack dwindling to a low hum of power.

After a few more seconds, Hump let his spell drop and lay their gasping. He’d had the wind knocked out of him from the blast. The others were scrambling back to their feet. Hump had only managed to block the frontal explosion in time. All around the room, potions and books were in shambles, as if a hurricane had swept through and sent everything flying.

They looked between each other, searching for signs of damage, only breathing out a sigh of relief when everyone appeared fine.

Then all eyes turned to Finnian.

“You reckless fool,” Ashera hissed under her breath. “We could have slain it together.”

Finnian looked down. “I thought I’d save us some time.”

“You could have killed someone,” she growled. “Fortunately, Wizard Humphrey raised a shield on time.”

“We need to get out,” Celaine said, leaping to her feet. She rushed over to Hump, dragging him up by the arm.

It was then Hump noticed the thick orange smog rising from one side of the room where a number of potion vials lay shattered. It filled the room quickly, blocking off their route back the way they’d come from. Their only chance now was the next door.

Ashera was already there, her blessings burning around her. She shattered the door’s lock and pushed it open, all of them pouring through and into the tunnel beyond. Nascal was last through, closing it quietly shut behind them.

Distantly, Hump heard the chant of voices. Something about them was wrong—very wrong. He sensed the power in their words even though he could barely make them out.

Hump tried to take in the new tunnel, when further ahead of them a robed man came around the corner. He seemed angry at first, then noticed them and their eyes went wide.

Without skipping a beat, he turned and raced back the way they’d come. “Intruders!”

Celaine and Varesha’s arrows found their back, dropping the man to the ground. Hump recognised the apprentice robes at a glance. For a few heartbeats, there was silence, and then he heard the clatter of bones and steel.

Hump held up his staff, lighting the path before him. Armoured skeletons stared back at them, their eyes burning with the lich’s power. Beyond them was a chamber radiating the lich’s power. A thick fog of purple miasma leeching up from below, filling even the tunnel they now stood in.

“Do you hear that chanting?” Celaine asked.

“It’s a spell,” Hump said. “And a powerful one at that.”

“Any idea what it does?” Ashera asked.

Hump shook his head. “No, though I have a feeling we want to stop it before they finish.”

“It seems the time for stealth is at an end,” Ashera said. “The lich’s lair lies before us.”