Archerbold faced Rolfe as the other Proven circled the dead king. Archerbold was a skilled swordsman and surprisingly clever with his feints. He nearly caught Rolfe, but the large Protector had a significant reach advantage with his spear and managed to avoid Archerbold’s trickery. The dead king had the fighter’s wisdom and knew when to remain calm and when to use his incredible bursts of supernatural speed. As a result, the Proven kept themselves at a distance and probed for openings and weaknesses.


    “Come on! Face me one on one!” Archerbold challenged.


    The team looked to their Leader, and Dunar shook his head. The Proven continued to encircle the dead king and limit his movement. The trap was closing in.


    “Cowards!” Archerbold cried, and with lightning speed, he lashed out his two-handed sword in wide arcs that kept the Proven from moving closer.


    Jeze saw that his taunts had an effect on the honor bound Proven, especially Rolfe and Helga. Mikal could care less. He was more interested in survival and treasure. Dunar gritted his teeth and continued to press the dead king.


    “Okay, how about we make a deal?” Archerbold asked.


    “What are the terms?” Dunar asked. The fighting paused.


    “I can tell you where to find the Lich,” the dead king offered.


    “We know where to go,” Jeze stated. The obvious place was the giant pillar.


    “Ahh, you think you are a clever girl. Okay then, answer me this. How do you plan to get past Lev Shabuyaton’s defenses?” Archerbold asked.


    “What do you propose?” Dunar asked.


    Archerbold grinned. “You bring me the Wendigo. I will provide you with a map that will show you how to get into the Lich’s palace.”


    Dunar shook his head. “Tell us, and we will spare you.”


    Archerbold gasped. “And how does that serve me? I will good as destroyed unless I can get stronger.”


    “I say we give him a warrior’s death, ya?” Helga suggested.


    Dunar nodded. “Agreed. There is no way we can tell if you are lying.”


    “Fools!” The dead king shrieked.


    Dunar engaged with sword and shield. Archerbold parried, countered, and his sword bounced off Dunar’s defenses. Rolfe stabbed the dead king in the side. The Helldrake weapon pierced the armor as easily as a knife through butter. Archerbold gasped and stumbled. Helga deftly removed his head. The fight was over. Or so the Proven thought.


    “By the Night Eye!” Jeze exclaimed.


    A long twitching tendril of black ichor snapped Archerbold’s head back onto his torso. The dead king laughed. “You should have made the deal with me! But now it is too late. I will feast upon your blood!”


    The fighting resumed. Jeze caused Archerbold to stumble from a boulder strike. Dunar removed the dead king’s right arm with a powerful chop, and Rolfe impaled Archerbold to the wall.


    “Not good enough!” Archerbold hissed.


    The same dark ichor snapped his arm back into place and the dead king forced Rolfe to retreat with a wild swing of his long bladed sword. Archerbold was free again.


    “Maybe we try using fire?” Mikal suggested. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Jeze nodded. The Proven exchanged attacks with the dead king. Helga removed Archerbold’s head after a series of parries, slices, counters, chops, and thrusts. launched fire darts from her fire stick to ignite the dead king’s body. It burned and turned to ash.


    “By the Frozen All-Father!” Mikal declared.


    Archerbold’s body reformed from the ashes, and the dead king rushed forward and attacked.


    “Maybe his magic will run out?” Jeze suggested.


    “Fools! I consumed the bodies of hundreds! I can outlast your pathetic, mundane attacks!” Archerbold cried.


    Mundane? Jeze thought to herself, and then an idea clicked into her head. She drew the enchanted blade she took from the Core Tunnels on the third floor. The King’s Sword. It was enchanted by a method that had long been forgotten. The magic was infused into the blade itself. A truly magic blade that was believed to be able to slay a dragon.


    “Let me try,” Jeze said and engaged the dead king with sword and axe.


    “Silly girl,” the dead king taunted.


    Archerbold underestimated Jeze’s skill and overcommitted. He hoped to overpower her, but she was too elusive and too quick. The king stumbled after a powerful chop. Jeze, like the wolf, sidestepped the attack, and like the bear, she lunged forward with her sword. The blade pierced through Archerbold’s neck. His dead eyes went wide.


    “Ack,” he gasped and tried to grab her.


    Jeze pulled her sword free and, in a fluid motion, removed the dead king’s head. The enchanted blade severed his gray flesh, and the dark ichor sizzled on her blade like butter on a hot skillet.


    “How?” Was all Archerbold’s head to gasp before the light faded from his undead eyes.


    Mikal came over to examine Jeze’s sword. “When did you get a magic sword?” He asked.


    “Didn’t I tell you? From the Core tunnels on the third floor,” Jeze answered.


    “No, I believe you failed to mention that,” Mikal snapped back.


    “Jeize, I don’t understand. What makes your blade different from my axe?” Helga asked.


    Mikal answered, “Because the magic is a part of the sword. It is inside it. I have never seen anything like this.”


    Helga and Rolfe scratched their heads. Dunar was confused but curious. “Can you explain?”


    Jeze answered, “The Rune enchantments on Helga’s axe are layered on. Not a part of it. If the Runes were to be damaged, the magic would be lost. Also, it requires the user to insert their Will in order for the enchantments to work.”


    “Your sword does not require any activation glyphs?” Dunar asked.


    Jeze shook her head. “No, the magic is in the blade. A part of it. This technique has been lost.”


    “Truly remarkable,” Mikal muttered. The Healer quickly searched the chamber and he came up with nothing. He cursed, “There is no treasure here!”


    “Maybe Archerbold’s sword has magic?” Helga suggested.


    Mikal eagerly grabbed the dead king’s blade and shook his head. “I don’t sense anything. It’s garbage.”


    Dunar shook his head and took up the sword. “No, not garbage. This is a well-crafted blade.”


    Mikal perked up. “Reallly? Would you say it is worth a fortune?”


    Dunar shrugged. “We can get a good price for this sword.”


    Jeze chuckled. “It is incredible how Mikal could forget the predicament we are in when he is distracted by his greed.”


    Mikal scowled at Jeze and raised his chin up. “I am confident you will find the mechanism to open the doors in this chamber.”


    Jeze was taken aback. Did he just compliment her? She blinked her eyes and couldn’t come up with a response. Jeze muttered curses under her breath and searched the chamber. Mikal was correct, she was able to find the lever.


    “Before I open the doors, what is our plan?” Jeze asked.


    Dunar waved his hands to the burial hall outside. “We put on rags and disguise ourselves as undead with your illusion magic.”


    “I will need time. I have not done this before, but I’m confident if I can overlay the Light and Darkness aspects, I can distort our appearance to make us look like zombies,” Jeze replied.


    Mikal waved his hands. “Whatever, we didn’t ask for a magic explanation. Just do your job.”


    Jeze scowled at the Healer.


    “Will it work?” Rolfe asked.


    “I believe enough to trick the zombies. I’m not sure about the stronger undead,” Jeze replied.


    “We may have to kill the Wendigo, ya?” Helga growled.


    Dunar nodded and stated, “Archerbold said that fire would work, and we have Jeze’s magic sword. We can win.”


    “For glory!” Rolfe cheered.


    “Hurrah!” The others chanted back.


    Mikal sulked and muttered, “I doubt there will be any treasure in this cursed place.”