Peek: The Crypt Complex

Lusse meets his companions' eyes as they stand in the tunnels, steeling themselves for this delve. The elven rogue hasn't lead them wrong before, and he doesn't intend to change that now. They may still be a long ways off from having to delve the Shrouded Bog, but early preparation is always a good idea.

Undead will be a challenge for their small party. They're notoriously resistant to sneak attacks, have unnatural stamina to try to wear down Klarquer, the badgerkin fighter and frontline, and the particular variety here is supposed to be highly resistant to using life affinity to disrupt them, leaving Helearn the halfling lifemage at a distinct disadvantage.

But they have a plan. If they can't overwhelm the undead, they'll lure them out as small groups, using the narrow passages of the tunnels and the deep sections of the complex to their advantage. With Helearn's magic, they should be able to outlast the undead, and have the energy to retreat, if it's needed.

"I still don't get how the townsfolk are so relaxed around a dungeon with undead," comments the halfling, shaking his head at the absurdity. Sure, they purchased the information from the Dungeoneers, but none of them have ever read a briefing quite like that one.

"Just keep an eye out for the hands. The normal undead should be easy for me to hold back, but I don't know how long I can stand up to random magic on top of that," says Klarquer, rolling his shoulder before preparing his tower shield, a short sword in his other hand.

"They'll be my priority," confirms Lusse, wrapping shadows around himself. "Are we ready?"

"Yes," comes the immediate reply from his friends, and he smiles before scouting ahead of the two as they take it more slowly. He slips through the passages, silent as the grave, leaving subtle markers for his friends to know which way to go. He spots a few simple magical traps, but they're not difficult to disable. The lack of encounters wears on his nerves until he decides to wait for his friends to catch up. If they had somehow been attacked, he should have heard it, but the quiet of the crypt complex has him on edge.

Relief washes over him as he sees Klarquer's shield, torch set at the top of it as the badger walks like a proud beacon. But he also knows his friend well enough to see the subtle twitches of his ears and nose. Lusse isn't the only one feeling like something is off.

"Where are all the undead?" whispers Helearn, trying not to grip his casting rod so tightly, his eyes darting around.

"I don't know," admits the rogue. "We should have met something by now, but..." Klarquer's ears twitch as Lusse's blood runs cold. He can feel a subtle draft where there wasn't one before.

"I hear shuffling feet," growls the badgerkin.

"I feel a draft that wasn't there, too. We need to go back." The 'now' goes unsaid as they quickly backtrack, only to find their path blocked by several fungal zombies. Klarquer snarls and interposes himself between the undead and the group, with Helearn starting to stack buffs to keep him not only in the fight, but free of infection.

The fight is short and brutal, with Klarquer keeping the attention of the undead while Lusse slips into their midst and dispatches them. They take only a brief moment to recover and make sure everyone if alright before they try to continue to backtrack.

Verdant skeletons block their path at the next intersection, and this fight is not so simple as the last. Skeletons are practically immune to stabbing, and even a good Shadow Slash has much less effect than Lusse would prefer. If they get out of here, he's going to make sure he has some kind of club or hammer as a backup.

Klarquer has better luck, able to bodily throw back the skeletons with his large shield, leaving them open to stomps and kicks. It's better than nothing, but the delay costs them.

"Argh!" grunts Helearn as a bolt of magic strikes him from behind, staggering the mage. "R-Run!" he grunts before two more bolts impact him, paralyzing him fully.

"Never!" shouts Klarquer, and Lusse agrees. They'll all escape, or they'll all fall together.

"I hear more zombies. Hold them off, I'll deal with the hands!" shouts Lusse, not waiting for his friend's reply before he wraps shadows around himself once more. He swiftly glides down the tunnel, looking for the hands, and only just manages to spot on on the ceiling, where he quickly identifies two more.

A Shadow Slash deals with two of them, and a more mundane stab finishes the third before it can manage to fling any magic at him. He hurries back to his friend, only to find him surrounded by undead, and slowly losing the battle to keep his feet. He snarls and growls, tower shield moving with the kind of speed and purpose only a stubborn badgerkin could manage, his short sword cutting swaths through the zombies, only for more to take their place.

Lusse moves beside his friend, taking position at his back to try to give him some breathing room, only now noticing they're fighting over the still-paralyzed form of Helearn. The frantic battle is hard to keep track of, each moment a reaction and desperate attack to try to buy a moment to think!

But it's a moment they cannot gain. The passages light as spells fly from the darkness. Lusse dodges on instinct, but Klarquer is not nearly so nimble. He collapses without even a sound, paralyzed as well.

To his shame, Lusse briefly considers fleeing. What would it serve if all three of them die here? But there's no path out that he can see. He grimly grips his daggers and lays into the undead, determined to take as many with him as possible. He only manages a few more kills before his body suddenly goes numb, and he collapses atop his other two friends.

Klarquer's look is complex, full of lust for the battle, anger for losing it, sorrow to know his friends will not survive, and pride that they fought together to their last. Helearn looks more sorrowful, clearly wishing they had abandoned him, but also happy they didn't, even if it spelt their doom. Lusse is the most sorrowful of them all, hating himself for even considering fleeing, and for leading them to their demise.

He can't even close his eyes as the rotting hands of the zombies reach for him. Yet, instead of tearing him apart, they lift him with surprising care. They not only start to carry him, but Helearn and Klarquer, too! What in the world?

Reality twists around them before sunlight falls upon them. Lusse can't believe he feels grateful to the zombie carrying him that it moves a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight. How would undead even think about that?! And why protect them from the light? Lusse can only stew in his questions as he and his party are taken before a skeleton in a black robe, carrying a large scythe. It'd be more intimidating if it wasn't currently using that scythe to trim the grass over the graves.

The zombies grunt, and the skeleton looks at the group before nodding and pointing somewhere Lusse can't see. Their destination is reveals soon enough as he can feel himself leaving the dungeon, and is soon propped up against a tree in the shade. The zombie that carried him holds his favorite dagger in front of his face, not threatening, but making sure he can see it, before the zombie closes Lusse's eyes. Then he can hear the zombie leave with his dagger!

It takes most of an hour before Klarquer starts to shake off the paralysis, his earlier anger long gone. "That... at least we're alive?" he slurs, clumsily getting to his feet and shuffling around. Lusse is glad to hear that, even if he's confused about it.

Sure, they all read the packet on Thedeim, but it didn't make sense at first. But now it, and the attitude of the town, are starting to make a lot more sense. He's going to go over the packet again, once he can move. It said something about a tree with stronger fights. Maybe they won't need to eventually brave the bog after all.

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Inspired by Architectural Engineer, who wanted to see an undead dungeon that's not evil. Unfortunately, Thedeim is kinda it. Still, It got me thinking about how people might try to prepare for the Shrouded Bog, and lead to this small party being beaten and learning a few things.