The Corpse Maze hadn't changed all that much since I was a girl. I remember coming by this at one point on our way to a grotto near the southern border of Vinitak. The walls were still incomprehensibly large and just frothing with corpses. Whoever the original architect was had a twisted sense of feng shui. My father had told me the only way to have it open for you was to speak ancient tongues to it, but almost all of that was lost to evil occult worship.
I climbed off of Bellant and gestured for him to stay hidden. He made a small skittering sound in affirmation and trotted off behind a rock. There was one other way to get inside the place if there were no one who could ask it. I pulled a waterskin out of my bag and slashed the bottom open. Blood poured all over the ground at my feet and on my boots. Disgusting, I know, but it was a sure-fire way to get the Maze’s attention.
“Here it comes.”
Bellant looked up from its resting place behind a boulder and gave a low growl as the Corpse Maze began moving toward his master. There was a slight rumbling sound as the maze moved to drink in the latest sacrifice. One of the walls distorted and turned into a portal vortex. It stopped moving slowly as if the portal was a door. Suddenly it reached out and ‘ate’ Leyara.
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When the maze took me, everything was dark for a moment and smelled of torment and death. In a matter of moments though, my vision was restored and I stood inside the Corpse Maze. It looked the same on the inside as it did the outside, however, on the inside undead troops started dropping from the walls and attacking. These guys were such low-level guys that a bash from the flat side of my sword was enough to handle them.
In the Sea of Leaves, soldiers were trained to fight undead, orcs, dragons, and a myriad of different creatures to make sure our nation could stay protected. The undead was particularly nasty. They were mostly not all that strong, but often they ran in hordes and most things didn't work against them, but a bash was usually all it took. Growing up, a horde of zombies had attacked a border city in the Sea of Leaves when a magic experiment had gone bad in a cemetery in the human territory. I remember how terrified everyone was talking about. It was hundreds of miles from the capital but I remember hearing the war reports my father received and being fascinated at how calm the soldiers were.
“Bring it on, I will lay you all to rest.”
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“Dauntlet. Blasamorota.”
So far, the fight was not going my way. At first, I thought we might be able to avoid it altogether because I had tripped him up over his name, but then I made the mistake of saying, ‘Ok for real, no more changes. Your name is Baron Samedi, Sammy.’ Now he thinks his name is Baron Samedi Sammy, but it confused him enough he attacked in a blind rage. Daddy issues amirite?
I blocked his next flurry of attacks thanks to my shadow gauntlets, but other than a shield they were essentially ineffective because he was undead and what not. That turned out to be way more of an issue then you would think for someone with a title like ‘Undead Lord’.
“Fireball.”
I had given both Casidhe and Dog the armor spell that I learned from Leyara in hopes it might help keep them alive. The energy javelins were not having much effect. Casidhe’s fireball smashed into the side of Sammy’s head. He narrowed his eyes at her savagely before he caught an energy javelin and threw it back at her impaling her through the armor instantly.
“Goddamit Sammy! Hemiowgun.”
Baron Samedi smirked as he formed his dark energy javelin and threw it at Dog. Ron tried to dodge it but instead ended having his back legs pinned to the ground with the spear. The healing stars were starting to work, but Ron was unconscious from the shock and sheer force of the attack.
“I will deal with a lot of shit but don’t fucking hurt my dog. Warp. Warp. Warp. Warp.”
I set off a series of warps to change my position but also to remove some of this asshole's confidence. It was however the opposite effect. Each spell turned into a black mist and absorbed into him rather than damage him.
“Thank you for the snack, Lord.”
This guy's creepy smile was getting on my nerves. This whole fucking place was a reminder of how douchey, Vampir was before I came around and I found myself being on the same page with him way too often and seemingly more often over time. To top it all off, this new and improved Baron Samedi was dripping with the brutish attitude of Vampir. Thinking back on the initial time when I found my journal and the message in it, I should have known any of his creations would be just as ridiculous.
Baron Samedi began channeling energy into his sword as he held it out in front of himself. I got the distinct feeling that the situation was about to escalate from an uphill battle to fucking hopeless. His sword had turned from the sword into a giant war hammer. The head of the hammer was so large it was straight out of a gacha machine. Unfortunately, that also meant he realized as undead of equal or greater power than swords and magic didn't have as much effect on me either. He was content to crush me.
He disappeared again. This time the blow came from below and left and sent me hurtling into the roof above. It felt like truck-kun all over again, but Sammy didn't stop there. He flashed up next to me before I even fully peeled off the ceiling and hit me again from above sending me crashing through multiple floors of the maze. At this point, most of the bones in my body were broken, and just when I thought I might be able to heal, Sammy was back. He launched me into the air after grabbing my collar then little slugger me back up to the throne room, but the asshole didn’t even have the decency to send me back through the hole. He made a new one with my face.
When I finally reached the throne again, everything in my body was broken and the damage was outpacing my healing. Maybe if I had some fresh blood… The hammer came down on my head which caused me to start losing consciousness. A door in the side of the room opened and it seemed like 1 and a half persons had entered. That seems rather strange…
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I blasted my way through the undead. There were hordes and hordes of them but then all of a sudden, they stopped in place. Black smoke came out of them and they disintegrated into dust. This made things decidedly easier for me.
“Trafoxx.”
A small spirit animal materialized in front of me that resembled Ron quite a bit. This was a spell I learned as a girl to find my dolly I had lost after visiting a friend. The doll turned out to be at my friend's house and she had taken it, but after my little spirit guide had made enough of a fuss it was discovered. Stealing from a princess was bad news, but kids will also be kids. The child was made to apologize along with the family, but I stopped her parents as I was satisfied with the girls. Her parents did nothing wrong so no reason to build resentment against the crown over a children's dispute.
“Find Vampir.”
The little spirit dog went off and led the way. The doors were already open as I traveled through following my guide and then eventually, we went up some staircases and there were explosions and the whole place was shaking so I figured I was in the right place. At last, we came to a massive red door that was covered in spikes, and peering through the literal keyhole was a fairy with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. I spoke as I drew my sword.
“Who are you and why are you watching?”
“Shit! Oh, damn darlin’ sorry now. You scared the blue blazes out of me. I came here with my companions and we got separated. I watchin’ them duke it out with that ole Undead King feller as we speak.”
“Who are your companions?”
"Well, I guess bout now I betta ask you whatchu doing in this forsaken place little missy? This is a long way away from the Sea of Leaves where you dark-skinned type come from."
“We don’t have time for this. Move or be struck down, Vampir and Ron are in trouble.”
“Oh, you know my companions? Why ain'tcha said so originally?”
I pushed the door open and my guide dissolved. The first thing that came to view was a black-armored figure smashing Vampir’s head in with an enormous war hammer. I cast the strongest Holy magic I knew. It wasn't a top tier spell or anything, but even this lower-tier spell should be effective against anything undead.
” Divine Radiant Spear!”
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Name: Leyara Quenith de Folioran
Date of Birth: 17rd day of the month Bella in the year 6004
Race: Folioran
Hair: Magenta
Eyes: Cerulean
Title: Crown Princess of Sea of Leaves
Magic: Folioran Magic, Holy Magic
Interests: Military Strategy, Meat on Skewers, Romance Stories, Petting Ron the Demon Dog, Ron’s Master, Vampir, sleuthing, and riding Bellant entirely too fast.
