Chapter 25: Dungeon delving, part 3

There was something wrong in this fourth level. The darkness was chased away by the light of their candles, yet, the black miasma that hung around the floor was ever present.

They both had scarfs pulled up. Standard adventurer's gear. Cheap and effective against poison gas. Neither of them had seen such a thing, but they could guess towards what they were walking.

"Did you hear that?" Rina was jittery. Ready to pull her new bow from her back and string a mana arrow on it.

"Like a whisper," Thomas agreed. The two slimes were walking before them. Not seemed to be bothered by the darkness or the miasma.

"Try to play that calming music again. It might put whatever it is that is whispering to sleep," Rina suggested. The brown-eyed adventurer nodded, and pulled out his harp. The relaxing tune echoed through the cavern. Instead of hearing something like a thump, they heard a screech.

Now, the two slimes stood to attention. They rushed in the direction of the screech. Knowing full well that their humans were fragile, and couldn't fight all that well. 

"It is best if we leave it to them," Rina took point before Thomas. Her bow pointing at the darkness. The sounds of something growling could be heard from up ahead.

"We can't leave them to fight our battles all the time," the summoner changed his tune. He tried to summon anything that he could out of the earth. Finally, a large root sprang out of the floor, and began to crawl towards the sound of the fighting.

"Thomas, I..." Rina was paralyzed with fear. Normally, the battle between monsters and slime was short-lived and one-sided. She did not want to see what was waiting for them at the end of the darkness.

"Stay here. You are the last line of defense," Thomas felt useless. Sure, he could summon another root, should this one turned out to be not enough. But for that to happen, the first root needed to be destroyed. If that happened, then they would have little to no time to fight the thing that was holding its own against the two slimes.

Pavos came flying towards them. One of his deformed bat wings missing. The slime shook his head, and then jogged back towards the sounds of the fighting. The miasma was getting ever thicker, and the two thought that they felt as if something was trying to gnaw on their legs.

"Light, Rina. We need light. Do you know any spells?" Thomas called to the panicking elf girl.

"I have the light wisp spell," she told him, and made a single light wisp in her hand.

"Make as many as you can. Send them to where the sounds of fighting are coming from," he commanded, and she nodded.

Soon, an army of light wisps headed in the direction of the biting and crushing sounds. What they illuminated made the two adventurers begin to tremble in their boots.

"A Lich," it was a horrendous sight. Leathery skin, no lips, its teeth, rotting and yellow, on full display. The Lich began to battle away the light wisps, which now clung to its skin.

"This is way over our level," Rina murmured, making a step back.

"We can't leave now," Thomas said, determined to see this battle to the end. "If we do, the Lich is going to chase after us. We can't lead it to the ranch or Orestria."

"This was supposed to be a simple D ranked dungeon," she said, and then gripped the bow tighter. "Stay here. If I fall, run."

Then, she jogged towards the Lich, and began letting loose fire arrows at it. The two slimes kept the Lich from trying to get at Rina, and the wisps were visibly paining it.

Thomas stood and watched, his fingers playing an erratic tune. If he had known a fire spell, he could have been better now. Being able to help in the fight.

He watched as Karl extended and tried to engulf the Lich within himself, only for a black miasma to appear between them and for the Lich to throw him back.

Then, Thomas got an idea. It would cost him the root, but he had to try. He began to play a holy hymn. One that the Orestria church played for Yule.

The miasma began to clear away the more he played. Although, now the Lich's green orbs were locked at him. The Lich summoned a surge of miasma, that had spots in it and didn't look as strong as before.

Yet, it was strong enough to be hurled at Thomas. The summoner watched in slow motion as the miasma came closer. He didn't stop playing, yet, he closed his eyes.

Only to open them moments later, when nothing happened. The harp was glowing a brilliant white light, and the miasma was swirling in a circle around the adventurer.

Then, the miasma became light, and condensed in a ball. Thomas began to play the more emotional part of the hymn, and the ball returned to the Lich, hitting it in the head, and then extending, so it could get the body of the Lich within itself.

They all heard the screams, smelt the scent of burning flesh. After which, the ball exploded, and only a crystal was left of the Lich. The miasma cleared from the room, and the glow caps illuminated it in their dim light.

"A phylactery," Rina picked up the crystal, and jogged to Thomas. "What do we do with it."

"Give it here," Thomas had this feeling that, if he touched the crystal to the harp, something wonderful would happen. He did so, and watched as it became embedded around the instrument's frame.

The dark green crystal glowed, they heard one last scream, and then it cleared until it was a much lighter shade of green. Thomas played a tune, one that was mournful, and the black miasma appeared. This time, it didn't hurt them at all, rather, it circled around the two adventurers like a protective hound.