“Finally, I was getting tired of the constant whiteness.” Uld let out a sigh as they arrived at the ruins known as the Dhaugh’Osthr in the language of Dusk. A ruin that once used as a burial mound for the Arch- Seidrhaurs of the fallen kingdom of Virdr. Built during the Mythical Age, as a small burial crypt, it gradually increased in size reaching into the Mount Dhaugruz.
While at first it was just on the surface level at the foot of the mountain, it now descended deep towards the Middle Stratum. While originally it was the final resting place of the Arch- Seidrhaurs, northern wizards and witches in service of the now nameless, forgotten royal family. After the arrival of the Host of Dusk, it retained its function as a burial site for the Nhilna’Skholbul, in the common Elhyrissian Tongue, Pale Wraiths.
“So, how does it feel to be this close to your ancestors?” Uld asked as Yun’Ghahk walked up to him, leaving behind a trail of footsteps in the thick high snow blanketing the surroundings. After their settlement in the nearby regions, this place was closest to the clans’ capital now served as the crypt to the upper echelons of the clan.
When the Nadraelhok and the Dhaugroons – dwarves of the Dhaugruz Mountain range, mutated by the necrotic energies after centuries, helped in digging it deeper and expanded the crypts that now reach down to the lowest stratum of the mountain. Which led to the clashing of architectural styles of the once pristine Virdr style, as they used claruoth marble from the south. And the dhogrioth the Dhaugroons and Nadraelhok deep in the Middle and Upper Stratum use, a dark stone with harsh surface.
“Strange, somewhat nostalgic even.” A mist escaped towards the entrance as he spoke.
“Do you have any idea what are those?” Fridr asked as she walked besides them, her longbow crafted from the bones of gryphons rested on her right shoulder. Its strong ivory string blended in with her thick, furred coat under the heavy plates.
“A Garmogr if my memory serves me right.” Her twin answered as he stopped behind them, looking over Uld as he recognized the size of the ribcage protruding from under the heavy snow – ice and snow ornamenting the large bones.
Garmogrs were large, rare beasts of the north, resembling wolfs with fur made of shadows, making them easier to spot in these parts of the world. For the most part, they are domesticated beasts of the Jottnar, Giants of the North who use them as guards of their flocks and their homes.
She raised her eyebrow while turning to his brother. “What would one have done here?”
“Who knows. Probably it was a wild one put down either by our ancestors, or by the Virdrions.” Fram speculated while he inspected the bones sprouting high, then curving inwards forming an eerie path that blends in with the landscape. “Could also been the case of our ancestors placing the bones here while the slaying itself happened far from here.”
“We can ask about that later, for now let’s just head inside guys.” Geirhyrien said while gracefully circling around them, the snow parting ways in front of her as the frost hued hem of her pristine white robe slid on the frozen ground beneath.
“Come now.” Fram remained still, his eyes gleamed with excitement as they were focused on the seemingly smooth bones, withstanding the cruel passage of time. Then he let out a grunt as his sister grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the entrance of the aging crypt. A curving, arched structure of pure whiteness contrasting the murky, jagged walls of the mountain side.
“Here we go.” Yun took a deep breath, then pushed the gates twice his size open. The vile stench of death hit their noses within moments. They all quickly took a deep breath, to swiftly get used to the stench in which they’ll spend a week or more. By pairs they stepped inside and let the hardened shadows swallow their armored forms. Each with differing expression, varied between thrilled to dreaded.
**
“Bjartur, on your right!” Yun dislodged his right axe from the draugrs’ head, kicking it into the chamber they poured out from. Then he turned around noticing two charging at Bjartur in a staring contest with another. As he warned him, Bjartur raised his muscled arms holding his ivory hammer. With a clean swing, the draugrs’ head exploded into hundreds of pieces on impact. It moved for a few more moments before Bjartur swung his hammer into its chest. Necrotic dust blew into his face as the dried and frozen, decayed chest of the draugr caved in and fell onto its back moving no more.
Two more charged at him, and with a clean horizontal swing he practically broke the two into two. Yun sent his blade into the head of one while Bjartur finished the other by crushing that one’s head too into a hundred or thousand decayed pieces.
“Thanks!” A wide grin curved onto his dimwitted face, as he destroyed two more draugrs, then continues further away from the group.
“And there he goes again.” Fridr said as she released another of her arrows. As it tore through the air, between the others, a bluish swirling glow of arkharuine energy appeared around its tip, emitting a chilling aura. As it found its way into its target, the draugr’s body was enveloped in ice, becoming a center piece of the wide corridor. Framr crashed through it with his shield, shattering the draugr into frozen pieces.
“Do not worry about him. My enchantments will protect him. Well as long as he doesn’t run into something stronger than these.” Geirhyrien added while her eyes focused on Yun wrestling with a draugr bearing orcish features. Her hand raised slightly, then went back to hanging position as she witnessed as he pulverized its head with his hardened right fist.
“How can there be this many Draugr just in this section?” Fram asked as his back clashed with Yun’s, both inhaled a bit intensely while their eyes were kept on the dim shadows that occupied the crypts on both sides.
“Well, many who fought in the Conquest of the Basin fell were buried here. Then you have to add on the ones whom failed the trials and the remnants of the kingdom also tend to find their way inside only to end up as part of the trial.” Two more draugr in mismatched ancient Virdrian armor charged from the shadows. They quickly met their second end, their heads rolled away, their bodies were frozen in place as Fridrs’ arrows stuck out from their chests. “And there are a few foolish bandits who think they can loot this place.”
“But this much?” Fram pointed at the dozen or more corpses with his long sword with runes engraved in its dark, metallic gray blade, lit up in a warm orange glow. “Something doesn’t add up here.” Fridr added while holding her arm out. The arrows lodged in the no longer moving corpses started vibrating, slowly backing out from the putrid, dry flesh encased in ice. Then as if possessing a serene mind of their own, gently flew back to her hand.
Geirhyrien stared at the dark for several moments. Then her eyes lit up as realization dawned on her. “Follow me.”. She called out to Yun and Fram while already heading towards the crypt on the right side. The two without uttering a word, followed after her, Yun hurrying to the front as draugrs charged at them.
“Knew it.” Her mana flowed like a river within her body, starting from her abdomen. It coursed through the various arkharuine points on the upper part of her body, where she shaped them into a spell. Now her eyes, enchanted seen through a veil of illusion, in the center above the large marble coffin still in pristine condition, she spotted a dark bluish orb with runes dancing around it.
“What?” Fram asked as the draugr started pouring forth from the walls, revealing hidden tunnels of pitch black darkness. “Just give me a few moments.” She yelled while lifting her arms slowly, palms facing the bright ceilings with wicked shadows dancing over their heads. Runes formed under her soft sleeves, glowing through the gleaming white fabric. Her eyes filled with a similar frosty glow. A warmness filled all of their beings as her spell tore through the air unseen, into the orb.
For a moment the draugr seemingly seized any and all motion, as if they were frozen in time. “Nice.” Fridr added after letting out a sigh, noticing the draugr behind her swinging its axe diagonally down towards her head. Then with a high pitched sound reminiscent of certain avians monsters screeching, the orb shattered, a transparent wave erased most of the draugrs.
“Hey, are you okay?” Yun rushed at her, quickly grabbing her arms firmly her silvery white blood flows out from her nose in a straight line.
“Yeah, I may have reached my limit. That illusion spell was a bit stronger than I first believed.” She said with a faint smile as she felt her head about to split open, her thoughts like a crazed hive of ants, disorganized, thoughts rushing all over.
“Let’s take a break here. Fram, Uld I leave the camp to you two. Fridr fetch Bjartur and the two of you start keeping watch.” As Yun’s ordered reach their ears, a disappointed groan echoed through the corridor as Bjartur was quite thrilled to continue on. They all chuckled a little hearing it.
**
The vile stench of death permeated the air so thickly one could bite it combined with the stomach churning sound of meat and bone being grinded, broken. The shadows swallowed every little detail of the large chamber, its walls veiled in dried blood and chunks of blood. Eye balls rested not far from their owners’ corpses – torn from their sockets as It played with Its prey.
Feral appearing, small creatures with grayish white, thick fur and long tails rested eternally on the ground. Deep, festering wounds ornamented their corpses in gruesome manners, intestines exposed, thorn at various points, their ends chewed on. Brain matter splattered on the statues depicting brave warriors of the Nhilna’Skholbul mixed with their vile greenish blood.
And in the center, the source of the vile noises reverberating in the chamber, a slender figure kneeled over a larger feral creature, tearing it was still fresh and warm flesh with its long, clawed hands. Its lidless eyes glowed with lightless emptiness focused on its food. Its wide mouth in eternal grin drenched in green blood, pieces of meat and bone stuck in its razor sharp teeth.
Then It suddenly stopped, as if time froze. Its head jerked up, staring at the ceiling, slowly tilting, moving as it followed movement on the levels above. Then with the same sudden movements It stood up, and moved towards the enormous, elongated entrance with a single goal bestowed upon him by his creator, father. The pale figure watched as It moved by his will, a sour look on his veiled visage as he hoped that it isn’t too late yet.
