The Proven reconnected with their mentor and friend, Carl Jorgenson. The tall bearded Frostsworn wore heavy mail armor and carried a large round shield that was painted yellow. It had two dragons, one green and one red, that faced each other on either side of the steel boss in the shield''s center. Jorgenson wore the Frostsworn helmet that protected his head, cheekbones, and nose. It was the same that Helga, Rolfe, and Dunar wore. Mikal was having an animated conversation with the stocky female Carl with the braided hair. Jeze learned that her name was Gunhild, and the two were scavenging the remains of the massive Corpse Eater. The more experienced adventurer was showing Mikal what parts could be used for Rune enchantments. This surprised Jeze. She didn''t know that Gunhild was a Rune Caster. Plus, she didn''t know that women could practice Runes in Frostsworn culture. Wasn''t it only reserved for the Cold Priests? Jeze wondered. She immediately straightened up when Berserker Orn approached her.


    "So, pup. How has the battle axe been treating you? Did ole Orn here give you good advice?" He asked and Jeze forgot how Orn''s deep voice rumbled and felt in one''s chest.


    "It has served me well," she replied with her chin up.


    Orn nodded with a smile that was barely discernible under his thick, braided beard. "Good. That is good." The Berserker glanced around and added, "We must hurry before the dead rise now that the Corpse Eater is gone."


    Jeze growled and gripped her weapons. The effects of Mikal''s Vitality Spring still lingered and it gave her a sense of power and increased confidence. "Let them rise and we will bury them again!" She promised.


    Orn arched an eyebrow, and he chuckled. "I''m sure you can, but that is not our objective." He turned and let loose a piercing whistle that caught everyone''s attention.


    "We move out," Orn boomed.


    Without hesitation, all the Carls prepared to leave. Even Gunhild, who was in the middle of gathering important materials from the magically rich Corpse Eater. The braided hair Carl grumbled but complied without argument. Mikal continued to search the large mound the Corpse Eater formed when it was defeated.


    "Get a move on!" Gunhild barked, and Mikal hurried after her. She glared at him. "We are not here to scavenge. We have more important things to do," Gunhild scolded the Healer.


    Jeze grinned and enjoyed seeing Mikal be admonished. She jogged up to Orn.


    "Where are we going?" Jeze asked the Berserker.


    "We will return to hiding and hope that this area will fill with more undead. That will attract another Corpse Eater for us to kill," Orn answered.


    The Carls jogged at a fast pace through the narrow and twisted pathways that ran in between the numerous gravestones, obelisks, and sarcophagi. All around them, the undead started to rise out of their graves and coffins. A few foolishly attempted to attack the Carls, but they were eliminated with brutal efficiency. Jeze started to notice the more dangerous undead, such as Ghouls and Wights, but they avoided the Carls. Orn was correct. With the elimination of the Corpse Eater, the undead returned. Why was that? Jeze wondered. The Carls led the Proven to a burial chamber that was much smaller than the Tomb of the Archerbold the Defiant. This chamber was two stories in height with jagged buttraces and engraved stone. The two teams entered and closed the door behind them.


    "Aw, you found the Proven," a man with scraggly hair and beard said. He was drinking from a horn which he offered to the others. Jeze recognized him as another Carl. She recalled the Frostsworn came with three teams. Two teams of Carls, and the Proven.


    "You have mead?" Rolfe exclaimed as he happily accepted the drink.


    Scraggly Beard grinned with a glint in his eye and replied, "Aye, we do."


    "Ya? How? Did you carry a keg?" Helga asked. Rolfe passed the horn to her, which she drank. Helga smacked her lips and added, "It''s not bad!"


    "We got it from these Bricks," Scraggly Beard said and added, "It''s not the best, but it helps warm the bones after a hard day of adventuring, no?"


    Rolfe''s eyes widened, and he turned to Dunar. "Next time we restock, we need to get these!"


    Dunar accepted the offered horn and drank from it. He nodded, "I agree, we should."


    Rolfe and Helga joined Scraggly Beard and two others as they cracked opened another Mead Brick.


    "Pace yourselves," Dunar ordered. It was doubtful that they would follow his direction.


    The chamber they were in was rectangular shaped and lined with empty burial niches. In the center was a sarcophagus that Jeze assumed was emptied. A heavily bandaged Carl laid on top of the stone tomb as if it were a bed. Jeze saw that the man''s waist was wrapped in Rune-covered bandages. His four teammates, which included Scraggly Beard, remained with him. Gunhild approached the bandaged man who attempted to raise to greet her.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "Don''t be a fool! Stay down, less you wish to be in two halves again!" Gunhild snapped.


    The man chuckled and grimaced in pain. Two halves again? Jeze wondered.


    Scraggly Beard explained, "Skald here was bit in half by a Corpse Eater."


    "For glory!" Rolfe cheered and raised a drinking horn.


    Everyone responded with a "Hurrah" that echoed off the walls.


    "Not my best day," Skald admitted in a raspy voice.


    The other Carls laughed. Jeze had forgotten how loud the Carls could be. For a moment, she worried that they would draw unwanted attention. But she pushed that concern aside. They were three formidable teams of Frostsworn warriors. Mikal studied the bandages on the wounded man.


    He asked Gunhild, "These are remarkable. Did you inscribe them?"


    The braided hair Carl nodded. "Aye, I did."


    "Did you study with the Cold Priests?" Mikal wondered.


    The chamber was once again filled with the raucous laughter of the Frostsworn.


    Gunhild''s laughing subsided, and she wiped a tear from her face. "Boy, do I look like a Cold Priest to you?"


    Mikal sputtered. The other Frostsworn continued to chuckle. Everyone watched this interaction with interest. Jeze felt that this was a running joke among them. She knew that only men could become Cold Priests in the Frostsworn culture. Also, only Cold Priests studied Rune magic. Gunhild was obviously a unique exception to this rule, and even Jeze was curious about the braided-haired woman''s story.


    "Gunhild, be easy on the pup. We should be honored to have a Cold Priest among us so that we may share the blessings of the Frozen All-Father," one of the Carls boomed.


    This was a tall, lanky man with a braided blonde beard that fell to his chest. He was sharpening a two-handed sword that was nearly as long as he was tall. Jeze cocked her head in curiosity. She recognized the enormous weapon as a Montante, and it was not a Frostsworn sword. In fact, it was common among the Knights of the Golden Empire. These Carls were a unique bunch. Back in Angston, she was too busy to have any opportunity to know them, with the exception of Berserker Orn and Carl Jorgenson.


    "Carl Gunhild, I meant no disrespect," Mikal apologized, and to Jeze''s surprise, the Healer bowed to the braided hair Carl.


    Gunhild''s face softened, and she loudly sighed. "Frode," she spoke to the tall man with the massive greatsword, "Perhaps you are right. I should forgive this young Cold Priest. It is not his fault that the Frozen All Father instills bad manners."


    Jeze saw Mikal''s face grimace, and she knew he wanted to retort but kept himself in check. Frode nodded sagely.


    "I am always right, Gunhild. You know that," he said with a flourishing bow.


    Berserker Orn and Carl Jorgenson beckoned Dunar to follow them up a flight of stairs that led to a hole in the ceiling. Jeze recognized that this mausoleum was built in honor of the Night Eye. She wondered if it once belonged to a noble or king in her hometown of Narcadia.


    Dunar said, “Jeze, come with us.”


    She followed them up the steps and through the hole onto the roof of the mausoleum where they had a view of the gloomy necropolis that was illuminated from the enormous glowing pillar that was off in the distance. From her vantage point, Jeze noticed that the fifth floor was bowl shaped and the pillar was in its exact center.


    "Right now, Master Couzart and the Lich that rules this place are at a standstill," Jorgenson explained.


    "What about Master Couzart''s team?" Dunar asked.


    "The Elite came by himself," the Carl answered.


    Jeze''s eyes went wide. To enter the fifth floor alone was either very brave or very stupid.


    "He is a fool, but you have to admire him, no?" Orn asked with a twinkle in his blue eyes.


    Dunar nodded. His gray studied the surroundings, and he concluded, "We aid him by destroying the Corpse Eaters?"


    "You are a smart lad," Orn responded.


    Carl Jorgenson explained, "The Lich of this realm consumes the souls that are trapped here. That is how he keeps his strength. We rank him as a Druid, but the Lich is close to achieving Herald."


    Jeze was familiar with the Frostsworn ranking system. Druid was Elite, and Herald was for the Hero rank. That meant that the Lich was very powerful.


    "How did he make this place?" Jeze asked.


    Jorgenson answered, "That is unknown, but we know that the dead do not serve him, and he has the Corpse Eaters to collect them for him."


    Dunar asked, "You mentioned that they were at a standstill?"


    Orn replied, "Aye. The Shadow Reaper managed to injure the Lich with his Shadow Death Strike. The Lich may be powerful, but he is no warrior and now keeps his distance from Couzart. Each is waiting for the other to make a mistake so that they can strike. It is a standoff."


    "The Lich needs the Corpse Eaters to feed him souls so that he can heal and gain strength," Dunar observed.


    Orn nodded and said, "We have been killing the giant monsters, but they are hard to find."


    "We were lucky that your team stumbled upon one," Jorgenson added.


    "But the undead here have a way to detect the Corpse Eaters," Jeze observed.


    Orn''s blue eyes twinkled. "You are clever, pup. That is how we find them. The Corpse Eaters are drawn to the undead. The undead flee when one shows up. Since you have killed one, this area will fill with the undead again, and we hope that it will lure another Corpse Eater."


    "If we eliminate all the Corpse Eaters, then we can defeat the Lich?" Dunar asked.


    "That''s the plan," Jorgenson replied.


    "Now all we need to do is wait," Orn added.