Being a massive trade hub, the city gates remain open all day every day unless the city is under siege. Even after dark, there were still plenty of people seeking entry into the city. Myrra waved to the two guards as they left the city. One of the men smiled at her and waved back.

     “Be safe, young lady,” the guard said as they walked under. 

     “I’ll make sure she is,” Kat replied, a little coldly. 

     Kat pulled Myrra a little closer as the two of them left the road and traveled northwards. The forest was dark, the light of the moon barely able to penetrate the canopy of leaves. Kat walked swiftly through the underbrush like it wasn't even there. Myrra struggled to see, but thanks to forest stride, it's as if the trees themselves moved out of her way. Anything that could trip her, seemingly vanishing.

     “Where are we going?” she asked.

     “To the cave,” Kat responded. “We need to find that pack, and I don't have long to play.”

     “I wish we could play more.”

     “I do too, but I still have to work. I’ll take more time off once the tournament happens.”

     “Tournament?” 

     “Oops, don’t tell anyone. It hasn't been officially announced yet. But it will soon, the devs want to push player growth, so they are planning on holding a tournament. I don't know all of what it will entail, but I do know that it will contain class items,” Kat explained.

     “Maybe I’ll sign up,” Myrra giggled. It will be a fun story to tell mommy, she thought to herself.

     “Then you’ll have something interesting to tell Moria,” Kat teased.

     Myrra pouted, making her sister laugh. She crossed her arms and pouted further, making her sister laugh harder.

     “Not funny…” she complained.

     “Sorry, you’re just too easy to read sis,” she giggled, her infectious mirth making her sister laugh too. “Let's go you little goofball, I want to get this done and return before I have to log off. 

 

*****

 

     “We’re here, but something is wrong…” Kat said, trailing her words off. Her normally playful swishy tail, pointed straight and alert as the fur stood on its ends. A strange chill flowed from the mouth of the cave. A thin mist clung to the ground, parting around their ankles as it flowed from the cave to the forest, giving the area an ethereal feel.

     “Are we going in?” Myrra asked in a whisper.

     Kat held up the small metal disc she was given, a holographic arrow pointing into the mouth of the cave before them.

     “Yea…”

     “It’s scary…”

     Myrra sidled closer to her sister as the two of them descended into the cave. Kat spoke a word and a blue flame appeared over her head. Casting its pale shadowless light across the walls. The two of them walked noiselessly down the cave corridor. They hesitated, the cold, oppressive atmosphere faltering their steps.

     “Have you noticed?” Kat asked, breaking the silence and making her sister jump and yelp.

     “Noticed what?” she whimpered.

     “The lack of anything living,” she replied, looking down the corridor.

     Myrra opened her mouth to reply when something burst forward from the shadows at the edge of her sister's spell's reach. With an inhuman screech, a trio of grinning skeletons approached with weapons drawn. Their pale white bones tinged blue in the light, their bloodstained weapons glowing slightly. 

     One of the skeletons swung its weapon down at the small girl. She held up her arm and with a small flash and a sprinkling of rose petals her weapon appeared. The dull, rusty blade dented as it bounced off her flower rod. And with a flick upwards caused a vine to burst upwards scattering the skeleton's bones across the cave, its head turning into dust from the force of the impact.

     The other two swung their weapons at Kats midriff, she batted aside one with her sword, slicing the dull blood covered blade in half. And knocked away the other with her clawed hand. With a lazy flick of her wrist, she sliced cleanly through both their skulls, causing them to burn away to a fine dust before the rest of the skeletons collapsed in a heap of jumbled bones.

     “Why are there skeletons here?” Myrra asked, poking the pile of bones at her feet with her Flower Rod. 

     “I don’t know, let’s find out,” she replied with a shaky smile.

     Ignoring the now inert piles of bones, the girls continue onwards. Both armed and ready for whatever surprise may come their way. Kat occasionally checked the disc, which began to emit a periodic chirp as they began to descend. The cave curving downwards as the temperature begins to drop. 

     Kat ignored several branching paths, following the locator as the chirps increased in frequency. When they drew close enough, the pack appeared, seemingly emerging from the stone floor. Kat bent to pick it up, keeping her eyes peeled for any enemies. As she scooped it up and swung it around her other arm, a chittering wail echoed through the cave. 

     “What was that?” Myrra shouted, covering her ears.

     “I don’t know, but I’d really rather not find out,” her sister replied.

     “We got the bag, we should just leave,” she whimpered.

     “We need to figure out why those skeletons were here. Then we can leave.”

     “Okay…”

     The two of them proceeded to follow the path once more. Continuing in the same way before they were interrupted. Both of them tense as they strained their ears for any sounds that might alert them of any dangers ahead. Myrra’s teeth chattered as the fog began to thicken around them.

     “I don't like this cave…” she whispered, clutching her flower rod tightly to her chest. A strange scuffling echoed off the surrounding walls. Myrra yelped and her sister's fur stood on its end. Kat scooped up her sister and held her close. Attempting to comfort the small girl shivering in her arms. Kat waited, her ears flicking and swiveling slightly as she listened for any abnormal noises. 

     “It’s okay,” Kat murmured comfortingly, stroking the frightened girl's hair. Myrra shook her head violently in response. “I’m here, and I won't let anything happen to you.”

     “You promise?”

     “I promise,” she vowed, holding out her hand.

     The small girl took it, her tiny hand engulfed by her sister's larger one. A weary smile crossed her face as the two of them continued forward into the foreboding darkness.

 

*****

 

     Their journey so far has been uneventful, dispatching several groups of weak skeletons and shambling zombies. But no matter how far they traveled, they were unable to find the source of the noise that echoed now and then. Mocking their attempts to locate the elusive creature. Myrra lost track of how long they have been in the foul cave. Her heavy breath leaving trailing mist.

     “Are you alright?” Kat asked, with a concerned look on her face.

     “Just tired, used a lot of mana…” she panted.

     “Hmm, that's not good. Do you have any mana restoratives?”

     Myrra shook her head, her eyes drooping tiredly. “I used the few I had already.”

     “Okay…” she hesitated, a thoughtful look crossed her face as she rubbed her chin. “Okay… just stay behind me then. Use magic only whenever you absolutely have to, alright?”

     “Ok sissy,” Myrra half smiled.

     They continued onwards, Myrra keeping behind her sister as they entered a small, sparsely furnished room. Kat dismissed her spell, not wanting to accidentally set anything alight.  Set against one wall was a bed, with a bookshelf directly next to it. In the corner was a cluttered desk, books and papers scattered across its surface. Spotting one of the books lying open, Kat went to investigate. Myrra stared dumbstruck at a cluster of specimen jars, their content's obscured by a thick layer of dust. She sneezed as she swiped away some of the dust. 

     “Kyaaa!” she exclaimed, falling backwards as a pair of eyes stared at her from the jar.

     “What happened?” 

     “Eyes,” she stammered. 

     “Huh, so there are. Come here for a moment,” she instructed, Myrra went to her side and looked at the open book.

     “Necromancy?” she asked, seeing a diagram of a human body, as well as its uses in magic.

     “Yea, apparently someone was here researching. The book was open to this page,” she said, flipping back a few pages.

     Myrra read a passage, The height of necromancy is the Soulshroud of Desolation. It requires a large amount of human sacrifices to cast. Assemble the sigil as instructed below, placing the required reagents in their marked locations. At the center of the array is placed an Altar, upon which a sacrifice must be made. Upon activation of the ritual, the nearby souls will be harvested to fuel the next portion of the spell. Spreading corrupt ground and raising all the bodies on its surface as undead. The aspiring lich at this point may collect the essence of undeath produced by this spell to fuel the creation of their phylactery and the binding ritual that follows.

     “What is this?” Myrra asked, looking up at her sister.

     “Something bad…” her face paled slightly. “They are probably targeting Eurizeth. We have to get back and warn them.”

     “We have to hurry,” she said, picking up the book before her sister could react. There was a small chime as the ground began to rumble, collapsing underneath them. Myrra shrieked as the two of them plummeted into the dark.

     “Are you ok?” Kat asked, her voice coming from nearby. The complete absence of light plunged them into a dark abyss. With a word, Kat caused her fox fire to reappear.

     “Yea…” Myrra groaned, sitting up from where she had fallen. “Where are we?”

     “I don’t…” she began before the same chittering wail interrupted her. This time from much closer. “Myrra!” she shouted, leaping towards the small girl, grabbing her and rolling away as something crashed down behind them, kicking up a cloud of dust. 

     The small girl inhaled a fistful of dust after having the wind knocked out of her. Kat jumped to her feet and raised her sword. Blocking an attack directed at her now coughing sister. There was a chittering noise, followed by a clacking noise. 

     “What…? What…” Myrra coughed.”

     “I don't know, are you alright?” Myrra shook her head, still stuck in the coughing fit.

     With a shuffling noise, a mound of corpses undulated its way into the light cast by Fox Fire. Several bone and flesh tentacles wiggled about above it. The arms pulsing slightly as they whipped around violently. Several sets of eyes swiveled around the blob of bones and flesh. The strange orbs settling on the two of them.

     “Myrra!” Kat cried as the strange creature whipped one of its tentacles towards the small girl, who was still stuck in a coughing fit. With a flash of light and the sound of a thunderclap, Kat lunged forwards, her sword outstretched as the tentacle dropped to the ground. Wiggling uselessly as the monster screeched, a grating noise that sent shivers down both their spines.

     “You need to get yourself together,” Kat hissed.

     “Sorry,” she replied, as she loudly cleared her throat before hoisting her rod. “I'm good now. What is this thing?” 

     “It's a gelatinous corpse mound. They are a high level undead.” 

     The monster undulated, emitting a high-pitched wail as it lashed out in all directions with its arms. Myrra aimed her rod at the monster before firing off a pair of thorns. The undead screeched as the barbed spines pierced its body. It lashed out, attempting to skewer the small girl with its four remaining limbs.

     Kat rushed to her sister's side, attempting to cut another one of the arms where it attached to the main body. But her sword reflected harmlessly off as it moved a thick plate of bone into the weapon's path. Catching her off guard as one of the arms swung around, striking her in her midriff. Darkness fell around the beast as Kat was thrown to the other side of the room, colliding heavily into the wall. Her breath driven from her chest as she collapsed to the ground. Blood trickling from her ears as her head began ringing.

     She struggled to get up, her vision blurry. The sounds of combat echoed loudly just outside the ring of light. She pushed against the ground in a futile effort to stand, the very earth underneath her moving as she struggled to get her feet under herself. There was a screech and an ominous thud as the sounds of battle stopped.

     She rose to her feet and started walking forward. Her steps faltering and measured as she slowly placed one foot after the other. Her consciousness wavering as she lumbered forward. Slowly peeling back the ominously silent dark. Stumbling slightly, her journey stalled as she attempted to remain conscious. After what felt like an eternity, the light revealed a small, panting girl. Her blood covered form standing in stark contrast to the dark gray of the room. 

     “Sissy, I did it,” Myrra panted eagerly, a smile on her blood stained face. A smile which quickly turned to a look of pain as the beast committed its final act. A bone spear launching from its dissolving body. Piercing the small frame of the girl who put it to its final rest.

     Kat screamed as she watched the life fade from her sister's eyes.