Jeze Summoned small balls of light that floated in the air and illuminated the room they were trapped in.


    “That’s a new trick,” Dunar observed.


    Jeze grinned. “I have been practicing with the Light aspect.”


    Dunar nodded and asked, “Where did you learn the Rune chains?”


    “My brother had a few spells in his Journal,” Jeze answered.


    Dunar tapped his chin and wondered, “What else can you do?”


    Jeze was eager to explain. “Initially, the Light aspect didn’t interest me, especially since I found the glow globe from the pyramid. I didn’t need light spells. Also, I knew the Fire aspect, and at the very least, I could light torches.”


    “Please answer the question,” Mikal muttered.


    Jeze stuck her tongue out at the Healer and continued, “But there is so much utility to the Light aspect that I didn’t know about. I’m working on creating veils, and I believe if I overlay them with the Darkness aspect, I can create some convincing illusions.”


    “Are you kidding me? Talking about this! You do realize we are trapped, right? How do illusions help us now?” Mikal cried.


    “Relax, Micky. Don’t be so dramatic, ya?” Helga said.


    “We have food and water in our packs. King Archerbold didn’t think his plan out,” Rolfe added.


    “Have you all gone mad? Am I the only sensible one here that realizes the predicament we are in?” Mikal exclaimed, spittle flying from his mouth.


    Dunar placed a firm hand on the Healer’s shoulder. “This is a good thing for us.”


    Mikal sputtered but was unable to find the words to respond.


    The Leader continued, “We have a rare moment to talk. As Rolfe said, we have food and water. We are not in any danger. We can plan our next move in peace.”


    Jeze nodded and pointed to the large main doors. “We know that outside is dangerous for us. We either face hordes of undead or the Corpse Eaters that Archerbold told us about.”


    Mikal muttered, “Assuming that the king was not lying to us. Don’t forget that he trapped us in here!”


    “That is true,” Jeze replied and continued, “But we can only plan with what we know.”


    Rolfe shook his head. “That cursed Wendigo! I failed you all.”


    Helga rubbed his shoulders and vowed, “I will crush that creature’s bones to dust!”


    “You two can resist that monster’s howl attack. Your Will is strong enough. You need to learn to fight while being afraid,” Mikal admonished.


    “Ya! Dunar, how did you resist that fear in your heart?” Helga asked.


    “I didn’t resist. I was terrified, but I focused on the task at hand,” Dunar replied.


    Rolfe bowed his head. “I do not think I can do that.”


    Jeze slapped the big man across his face. “Yes, you can! Focus on what you love.”


    “Glory!” Helga cheered.


    “Bingo!” Jeze cried.


    Rolfe rubbed his face where Jeze had struck him and perked up. “For Glory!” He howled back.


    Mikal leaned in close to Jeze and whispered, “Let’s hope that works because if those two flee again, we are as good as dead.”


    Helga removed her helm to scratch her braided blonde head. “Since we are talking. I have a question. How did the Lich get all these tombs here?”


    Mikal nodded and replied, “It is a very complex spell, one that is beyond my knowledge.”


    “Were all the tombs teleported here?” Rolfe wondered.


    Jeze shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think these are magical recreations or illusions of what was. These monuments were filled with tremendous belief.”


    “But to what purpose?” Rolfe wondered.


    “To grow stronger. In order to break beyond the Adept rank, one must get power from an outside source. The Lich is probably Elite rank and is looking to consume enough energy to reach Hero rank,” Jeze replied.


    “But, Zippy said that we can grow our Spirit through our own means, ya? To achieve a higher rank without accessing outside power,” Helga said.


    “I don’t want to consume the souls of others,” Rolfe muttered.


    Jeze flinched at the mention of her familiar and the memories of his betrayal. “I suppose,” she replied.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Mikal sighed and said, “All the burial rituals we have for our kings and chieftains were a lie. This cursed place is proof of it.”


    Dunar narrowed his eyes and asked, “What do you mean by that?”


    Mikal motioned around them. “You heard Archerbold. He was buried in this grand tomb along with one hundred of his servants. It was believed he would return as a god and become immortal. All our chieftains and kings are buried under such extravagant means. Remember outside? It was endless, with grand tombs for thousands of monarchs. This Lich, this Lev Shabuyaton, figured out a way to trap them here in this cursed realm so he could feed upon their souls. I fear we are in over our heads.”


    “At some point, this realm was discovered by the Stronghold, and Lev was defeated and subsumed by the Fiends,” Jeze added.


    Rolfe’s eyes went wide and he said, “That’s why this place is the fifth floor!”


    “See that, Micky? If the Fiends could defeat Lev, and we have bested the Fiends, then we could defeat this Lich, ya?” Helga asked.


    “When have we fought the Fiends?” Mikal demanded.


    “Against the cursed sword, the Eye of Azsith,” Rolfe answered.


    Mikal rolled his eyes and snorted, “I’m surprised you remembered that evil blade’s name. But that was just an Eye that possessed a Cult Leader. We didn’t face a full-fledged Fiend, and in that fight, Dunar nearly lost his arm. We are doomed.”


    “You are forgetting something. There are other Adventurer teams here. If we find them and organize, we can take down the Lich,” Jeze pointed out and added, “And the Core Tunnels are here.”


    Mikal threw his hands up in the air. “More impossible challenges!”


    Dunar rubbed his arm where he was wounded and asked, “So, what’s our next move? Jeze, can you pick the locks?”


    Jeze went over and studied the large doors. She ran her hands along the edges and couldn’t find any mechanism to lock or unlock the doors. No handles or knobs to open them. Jeze gently pushed on the door. It would not budge. It was locked tight.


    Mikal observed, “Let me guess, we are trapped in here forever.”


    “Micky! Stop being so dramatic!” Helga cried.


    “The mechanism to open this door is somewhere else,” Jeze stated.


    Dunar nodded and ordered. “Everyone search the room.”


    “What are we looking for?” Rolfe asked.


    “Anything. A chain, a pulley, or even a lever,” Jeze answered.


    The Proven searched the room and looked in every nook and cranny. Jeze climbed up to examine the ceiling. The team gathered back in the center.


    “We are doomed,” Mikal said with a sigh.


    “There is still one option,” Jeze said and pointed to the doors Archerbold had fled through. They were smaller and appeared less thick than the main doors.


    “What if they are locked the same way as the other doors?” Mikal stated.


    “Then you freeze them, and Helga can smash them open with her mace,” Dunar explained.


    The warrior maiden grinned and hefted the two-handed Devil Steel weapon she had taken from the defeated Howler Elite.


    “I don’t think that will work as well as you would hope,” Mikal muttered.


    Jeze returned from examining the doors and whispered, “It’s a locked door that requires a key.”


    “And?” Mikal scowled.


    Jeze rolled her eyes. “I can pick the door.”


    “Then what?” Mikal asked.


    “We owe Archerbold a beating for his treachery,” Rolfe stated and slammed his fists together.


    “Ya!” Helga exclaimed.


    Jeze added, “I believe the mechanism to open the main doors will be in the King’s chambers.”


    Mikal shook his head. He was still skeptical.


    Rolfe leaned down toward the Healer and said, “Maybe there will be treasure?”


    Mikal perked up. “Does not hurt to take a look, right?”


    “That’s the spirit, Micky!” Helga exclaimed.


    Dunar cleared his throat and reminded the team. “Let’s not forget that we still need to contend with Archerbold. By all accounts, he is a formidable warrior and one of the stronger undead.”


    Jeze had an idea and grinned widely. “I have a plan,” she said.


    *****


    King Archerbold the Defiant wondered what his captives were doing. He heard a loud commotion from the other room and grimaced. They were destroying his home! But, in time, they will grow weaker, and it will be well worth it. The king rubbed his hands together in anticipation. To drink living blood!


    “I will get stronger! Perhaps strong enough to challenge the Corpse Eaters! The Lich himself!” Archerbold exclaimed to himself.


    The commotion was still happening. Could they escape? The dead king wondered. It was at this point that he regretted killing his advisors. When he woke up here, it was survival of the fittest, and he was very hungry. But, in retrospect, he could have spared the advisors. Archerbold shook his head. A king should not doubt their decisions. A king needs to be divisive!


    “More importantly. A king needs to be patient. They will succumb to their mortal needs, and I will consume their flesh!” Archerbold promised himself.


    The steel doors to his chamber rattled every so slightly. It was such a faint sound that a lesser person would have missed it. But not King Archerbold! He was not a lesser being. He was a wise king with excellent perception. The adventurers were picking the lock! The commotion was a distraction.


    “They think they are clever,” Archerbold observed with a cruel sneer. He readied his two-handed sword and promised, “They will learn why I am called Archerbold the Defiant. The great warrior king!”


    He turned off the magical torches and plunged his burial chamber into complete darkness. It was a small circular room made of rotted marble and wood. Archerbold ducked to hide behind his stone coffin that was in the center of the chamber and adorned with intricate designs that depicted his greatness.


    Light flooded the chamber as the steel doors opened. Archerbold cursed his luck. Of course, they would have a light source! It was a small chamber, and it was only a matter of moments before they discovered him. Archerbold needed to act quickly! The first person to enter the chamber was the small girl with unkempt dark hair, a flat nose, and a scarred face. She had the wiry, muscled build of a warrior, but she was small and armed with an axe and a sword. A magical ball of light floated above her head. A few strides behind her were the others.


    Archerbold grinned. They were fools to have her go in first! He could easily cut this girl down and improve his odds! Four against him? The mighty Archerbold the Defiant? It wouldn’t even be a challenge. The dead king exploded forward with the terrifying speed of a Wight. Archerbold was a formidable warrior when he was alive, and now he was even more dangerous as a powerful undead! The young girl didn’t stand a chance as he sliced her in half with his sword.


    “I told you that the illusion would work,” Jeze said from the other side of the opened steel doors.


    Archerbold glanced up and saw that he had been tricked through foul sorcery! Motes of light dissipated before him, and the real girl stood in front of him along with her colleagues. A giant of a man in heavy armor growled at him.


    “We owe you a beating,” Rolfe promised.


    If Archerbold had a throat, he would have gulped. But he shook the doubts from his mind. He was a mighty warrior king! Is a mighty warrior king!


    “Proven! Attack!” Dunar roared.


    The Frostsworn surged into the room, and Archerbold met them with his blade.