Mature Content Warning: A bit of graphic violence.

Author's Notes: I will need to rename chapter 8 'Gentleman of Darkness' The 'random question' that was meant to be asked won't be asked until chapter 9.

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Chapter 8.3: Gentleman of Darkness

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The long night passed and the first rays of dawn were upon the world. However, Blackthorne and Sonja had already begun their journey back to the burial grounds a few hours prior. They saw their first zombies of the day just as the sun rose.

“There aren’t that many, today.” said Blackthorne.

Sonja tilted her head to the side then nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t think that there would be. We cleaned the surface out yesterday. Monsters spawn faster in areas like this, but it is still a small place so there won’t be as many.”

Blackthorne processed that bit of information then nodded. I made sense. He fought a lot of weak monsters in the grasslands but he had to scour many miles of terrain to find them. This place was like a monster nest, but once you cleared it there would not be many for a while.

“We should find more in the underground tomb. It is not very large, but we should be able to find enough prey to make it worthwhile.” said Sonja.

Her temporary master nodded then pulled his twin short swords from his bag. After combining and cleaning all of the weapons gathered as best he could, he had enchanted each of them with jolt. His bag now held a dozen short swords, and a small assortment of other weapons. He had left two spears back at the inn; they were too long for the bag. Nothing longer than a greatsword seemed to be able to fit inside.

There was no need for Sonja to run ahead today. The zombies on the surface were few in number, and they both had better equipment that before.

The adventurers, clad in a patchwork of useful but mismatched armor, strode forward with a purpose. The small group of zombies noticed them quickly then began to stagger toward them while they moaned in hunger and rage.

Blackthorne gestured for Sonja to stand aside for a moment. He wanted her to reserve her enchantments for the monsters inside. She wielded the only greatsword that they had currently. It would be a devastating weapon, but even more so if it retained its enchantment.

The zombies staggered toward the running man, but they might as well have been standing still. On the surface, beneath the light of day, they were nothing but walking loot.

The dark mage performed a hard slashing motion with his right sword, his accuracy was a bit off and his attack power suffered for it. However, the enchantment flared to life as his blade cut into the forearm of the beast. The zombie spasmed then fell back. It was not dead again, yet, but it was badly wounded. Blackthorne finished it off with several hard kicks to the face.

The next zombies came in as a pair. Blackthorne swiftly moved to the side then lashed out with his sword once more. His right sword flashed downward in a hard arcing motion that struck it solidly on the back. His target’s dented and corroded plate armor withstood the attack, but the enchantment flared out and stunned it long enough for Blackthorne to whip his body sideways and unleash an inexpert but powerful horizontal slash to the other zombie.

The hapless undead monstrosity only wore ancient leather armor and the material gave way completely before the power of that strike. Blackthorne’s blade carved deeply into its shoulder, and then cleaved into its chest several inches.

The mage released the blade and left it buried inside his opponent long enough to swing his other sword back around to slam against the rusted metal helmet of his other foe. The metal cracked under the assault but the real damage was done by the dark enchantment that coursed through its body.

His weapon kept moving in a smooth arc and he ran forward with it raised up and behind his head. He slashed down at the next zombie as it had gotten a bit too close for his comfort. The blade crashed down atop its skull and the last enchantment flared out to end its unlife.

Blackthorne let the weapon fall and pulled out two more swords from his bag. The last zombie had nearly reached him. This one held a shield, but no weapon.

The dark mage turned to the side and brought both hands to the right of his body just before he slashed outward and to the left with his left-hand blade. The zombie attempted to make a feeble block with its shield but the decaying structure was batted away with Blackthorne’s inexpert attack, but the attack was part of a combination he had wanted to try.

Before it could recover from the stun that the enchantment produce, the mage’s other blade arced downward in a brutal over-hand smash that connected where the zombie’s neck met its shoulders. Flesh, and bone were torn asunder and the creature returned to its death with a pitiful gurgle.

“Well done!” called out Sonja.

Blackthorne flashed her a brief smile then stepped away from the monster that he had just defeated. It was time to collect his discarded weapons and to loot the corpses.

They spent a few minutes stripping the corpses and collecting weapons. Blackthorne eyed his dropped equipment then nodded. The durability had dropped considerably due to the use of the enchantments and the low-quality of the items.

He tossed the fully discharge sword onto the pile of loot junk then switched out the sword he had struck the shield with, with the sword he had left inside the body of the third zombie. He did not want that one touching his food.

“Hey, not bad... Most of the stuff was leather and cloth, but an iron helmet and cuirass aren’t bad.” said Sonja.

Blackthorne nodded then said, “Let’s see what else we can scrounge up. I want to clean this place out today.”

Sonja raised her greatsword up then laughed. “Yes!”

The duo headed to the center of the burial ground without further molestation. There were no other zombies milling around on the surface. When they reached a large dilapidated building Sonja winked at Blackthorne then jogged ahead.

He blinked at her then tried to ignore the awesome image of Sonja running in that manner. She certainly looked comfortable in chainmail and leather.

Out of the building poured six zombies, each wearing similar gear to their other recently deceased brethren. Sonja mowed through them like they were nothing since they foolishly stepped out into the sun.

Blackthorne helped her loot the corpses then they entered the burial chamber beyond. The entire area was just one large room with a few alcoves. The walls were lined with coffins and funeral urns. At the center, on a raised dais, was a single coffin surrounded by twenty zombies in formation. They wore ancient equipment as well, but even from the entrance it was easy to see that it was higher quality that the equipment worn by the zombies on the outside.

The undead raised their heads as a single unit when the adventurer’s reached the base of the entrance stairs. The five zombies in the front raised their shields and drew their swords.

“Hey, let’s try something.” said Blackthorne.

“Hmm?” asked Sonja.

The dark mage stepped back up to the entrance and waved Sonja over. She walked up to where he was then turned her head when he pointed. The zombies lowered their shields and sheathed their swords. They continued to look up, however.

He grinned at her then told her to wait there. He walked back down at the front rank raised shields once more. He stepped back a few steps and they lowered them again. He kept moving back and forth until he found the exact spot that the zombies reacted by raising their shields.

He stepped forward and they raised shields. He stepped back and they lowered them. Blackthorne began to giggle like a moron then stepped back and forth quickly while the zombies tried to keep time with his motions. The zombies started to moan a little, and it suspiciously sounded like a series of complaints.

Sonja started to laugh. “Oh, that’s terrible...”

“Sorry, I just had to try that.” said Blackthorne.

The Valkyrie grinned at him then shook her head. “So playful...”

“Ready to do this? These guys seem a little better equipped than the others.” said Blackthorne.

“Yeah, they would be. They are an honor guard for that coffin, or so I have heard.”

“How often do people come through here?” asked the mage.

“Not often. People hate dealing with the undead, and most of what you can get here is garbage since it’s a low-level area.” she said.

He nodded to her then decided that they had engaged in enough random commentary while standing in full sight of twenty armed zombies. It was rude to them, and they were waiting patiently after all.

“How do we do this though?” asked Sonja. She had not had enough of the commentary portion of their adventure, it seemed.

“I don’t know? We could just run in while screaming a battle cry or something.” said Blackthorne.

“Good... but what battle cry?”

“Whatever pops into your head, I guess.” said Blackthorne.

“Right, let’s do this!” exclaimed Sonja with excitement.

Blackthorne and his temporary slave-tank stepped forward. They raised up their weapons and then shouted the first thing that came to mind.

He cried out, “For Sparta!”

She cried out, “Pancakes!”

They glanced at each other for a moment then shrugged before running forward. The zombies sprang into action. They moved with slightly more speed and grace than their surface wandering brethren.

Blackthorne and Sonja drew the zombies away from the coffin and began the assault. They skirmished with the monstrosities for a moment and took down several of them, but their numbers were a bit higher than they could handle at once when grouped enmasse.

The mage called out, “Fall back to the stairs!”

Sonja cleaved a zombie soldier in half then shield-bashed another back so that it was knocked into the closest of its compatriots. She hopped back then ran off to join her master. The zombie soldiers followed them slowly, but stopped when the fleeing duo left the building.

Blackthorne poked his head back in and noticed that the zombies were slowly returning to formation. Sonja peaked in as well then pointed to the wall on the left. Several coffins opened and zombies began to crawl out. The adventurer’s watched for a moment then looked at each other. They had both slain four of the zombies apiece. Eight new zombie soldiers made their way over to take their place.

“Hey, I have an idea.” said Blackthorne.

“Oh?” said Sonja.

He nodded at her then pointed at the walls. There had to be at least fifty or sixty coffins. “We can try to kill off their reinforcements before we take on the main task force. If they don’t have replacements, we can just skirmish with them until they all die.”

It was not the plan of a foolish, but epic, hero. However, it made great sense to Sonja. “Sounds good, want to clear the left side first since they already used some zombies from there?”

He nodded to her then they both headed off toward the left. It might have gone faster to split their forces, but it was safer if they did not.

They pulled the lid off the first stone casket then looked inside. There was nothing but moldering bones and skittering insects.

“They mean to rob the great lord! Death to the desecrators!” screamed out a voice from within the coffin. A ghostly image that was vaguely human rose up from the bones within.

Dozens of gravelly voices roared out, “Death to the desecrators!”

Instinctively, Blackthorne lashed out with his short sword. The weapon did no damage, but the enchantment flared out anyway. The ghostly warrior screamed in agony then faded away.

However, they had no time to celebrate. Blackthorne turned to Sonja and said, “Run!”

They made an effort to reach the entrance to the tomb. Before they could reach safety, ghostly warriors rose up all around them.

The background music had previously been a soft, but creepy tune. It bespoke of low moans and a forlorn wind. That unnerving melody shifted into a far more dangerous and forbidding tune just before it flared into a wild and raucous heavy metal sound track via the screech of a guitar. Drums pounded in the background with furious energy as an epic battle began.

The enchantments on Blackthorne’s weapons quickly ran out, and the refreshed enchantment on Sonja’s great sword ended at roughly the same time. They had slain seven of the warrior ghosts, but there were several more in line blocking the way out.

“Sonja, attack the zombies as best you can. I’ll finish up here.” ordered Blackthorne.

He dropped his blades then pulled out two more from his sack. He ran toward the dozen or so unquiet undead wailing before him.

Sonja turned and acted on his instruction without question. He had enchanted weapons, but she had the shield and heavy blade. It was time to once again earn her freedom.

The Valkyrie ran forward and slashed her massive blade down atop the nearest zombie. She did not even bother to see if she had felled the beast. Instead, she immediately bashed her shield to the side in order to block a zombie that had come within striking distance with its sword. The monster was knocked back easily. The warrior-maiden swept the legs from beneath her first opponent then slammed her blade down again to cleave its skull in two.

The unquiet dead, as that was there official name from as far as Blackthorne could tell, fell quickly before his enchanted weapons. They had no real power to attack unless they touched him. Against a normal opponent they would have indiscriminately drained his vitality while that poor bastard had futilely swung a physical blade.

The ghosts floated slowly toward him after he hopped back and dropped his swords. However, they were just as slow as their zombie compatriots. He had fresh blades ready just in time to lash out at the one closest to him.

An icy sensation ran along his back for a moment and he felt weakness creep into his body. Instinctively, he span around in a whirling circle with his blades out. The ghosts had no solid substance. His enchantments tore through them with great ferocity and they screamed as the power electrocuted their impure souls. His eyes lit-up. It was the perfect attack to face off against weak incorporeal monsters. All he needed to do was get his blades within their spiritual mass and his enchantments destroyed them.

Sonja blocked a hard slash from a zombie with her shield then pushed its blade aside and span in an arc of her own. She completely turned around and swung her blade hard. It blasted through the zombie’s neck and easily tore its head from its decayed body.

The unquiet dead, returned to their eternal rest and Blackthorne turned to help Sonja. He had used up half his weapon enchantments to fell his opponents, but he saw no more ghosts flittering about. It was time to end this.

The tomb was littered with corpses of the fallen. Sonja bled from several light sounds, but she had acquitted herself quite well. Blackthorne saw this then smiled. He ran in to give her a bit of help. Originally, he had intended to have her flee the area with him, but now that the battle had been joined he saw that they could win.

Sonja rammed her body and shield forward to knock another zombie back, and then stepped forward and swung her sword down in a powerful arc than cleaved its skull in half. She glanced over and saw her master scythe his way through another pair of zombies then looked back to see that the entrance was now clear. He could have escaped, but came to help her. She kept that in mind as she turned to face her next opponent.

There were at least forty zombies left when Blackthorne had come to the aid of his slave-tank, but after he joined the battle they worked quickly to thin the herd. He was forced to block a sword strike with his bracer and he could feel the force of the blow as it traveled through his arm. The armor held, but he took damage anyway. Zombie soldiers were slow and lacked agility, but when they managed to hit they made it count!

When the zombies crowded too close, Blackthorne hopped back a few times then ran a short distance away. In this manner, he and Sonja kept their slow moving opponents to a few encounters at a time. The zombie horde thinned further. Soon, only a half dozen of them remained. Sonja and Blackthorne grouped together once more then finished up the last of them.

The dangerous sounding background music faded back into a soft, but creepy tone once more. The epic battle had ended.

They both panted a little due to the exertion of battle. They shared a short, excited, smile then nodded. It was time to collect the loot.

Blackthorne replaced his nearly broken swords with his last two undamaged and enchanted ones, just in case. “Let’s see what we can find.”

Sonja smiled at him then turned to look at the coffin on the dais. “I wonder if they buried that guy with anything good.”

“Sounds good.” said Blackthorne.

They stepped over the decaying remains of the recently slain and moved over to the coffin. Blackthorne chose to open. When the lid fell away they discovered nothing but dust, a small ornate box, and equipment so ancient and dilapidated that it would be worth less than the zombie’s armor and weapons.

The mage ignored the dust and armor and opened the box. A ring resided inside that had not been harmed by the passage of time. It looked to be made of some sort of silver, but with a design that had black bat wings flaring out sideways from a bright red ruby. “Neat.” said the mage. He checked the information.

<<< Item >>>

Crimson Heart of the Fallen Lord [Rare]

A ring made from obsidian, fine mithril, and the crystalized souls of the fallen lord’s enemies. It possesses the power of darkness, and it is the perfect accessory for any would be lords of darkness. Quite the fashion statement, it would be a hit at parties in the underworld.

Defense: +5

Durability: 40/40

Quality: Exquisite

Value: 65000

Special

Heart of Darkness: Drain the vitality of your opponents with every swing of your weapon!

>>

Blackthorne grinned when he saw it. Who would have thought that he would find something like this in such a crappy place? However, his grin faded slightly when he heard a soft whisper in his ear. “You have found an ancient artifact of darkness, a symbol of power. Would you like to give up the life of a simple slave master and become a lord of darkness? If so, wear the ring.”

He certainly did not want to be a slave master, but a lord of darkness? Would that be better? “Can I know more about it?” he asked softly.

The voice did not speak again. Blackthorne was on his own. Finally, his curiosity won out over his misgivings. He slipped the ring onto his right ring finger.

Black energy flared out all around him. Wings of pure darkness rose up behind him and his eyes flashed brightly for a moment before the light faded. However, his irises remained bright red.

“Welcome to my beautiful darkness... You’ll love it. We have cookies and ice cream.” whispered the tempting voice in his ear once more. A soft, feminine giggle revealed that the dark goddess was present at that moment and not just a recording.

He blinked then looked around for in confusion. Sonja looked at him in obvious worry. Her expression of concern increased when he turned toward her and revealed his bright red eyes.

“W-what happened?” she asked him.

“Uh, apparently I am some sort of lord of darkness now...” he said.

Sonja’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “I don’t even know what to say about that.”

Blackthorne shrugged. “I don’t really feel any different.”

“You have red eyes and jet black hair, now.” said Sonja.

He stared at her for a moment then nodded. “Cool.”

“Cool?” she asked in confusion.

“Yeah, cool.” he said.

He decided to check his status to see if anything had changed. His stats were no different but his profession title had changed.

<<< Profession Title >>>

Dark Lord [Gentleman of Darkness]

Level 1 0.000%

Due to the fact that you own land and are associated with the powers of darkness and the night, you have been granted the most basic title for a landholder under the banner of the night forces. You are now landed gentry of the dark.

Side Note: Increase your holdings and forces to rise in the ranks and become a true Dark Lord! Give ‘em hell, Scott!

+ 10% stat increase when fighting at night or in the dark.

+10% resistance against powers of the dark.

- 10% defense when in the presence of the powers of the light.

Dark attribute abilities are much easier to learn and use now.

You may choose to change your race from human to one of the night races. [Be warned, this change is permanent.]

>>

Blackthorne read through the information and grinned for a moment then blinked slowly. The information window had referred to him as Scott and referenced property that he owned. Did that mean that this title was based on his piece of crap house?

“Master...?” asked Sonja.

He turned to her then smiled. “Sorry, nothing has really changed except my professional title. Unless, are you freed from enslavement to me?”

She shook her head. “No, I can still feel the mark.”

“Ah, I see.” He would not have had a problem if she had been freed. She had not taught him swordsmanship, yet, but she had certainly helped him find awesome equipment, far more than he would have gotten for his measly thousand Jerin. As far as he was concerned, she had more than paid her debt.

They were quiet for a moment, but Blackthorne broke the silence. “Let’s clean up this place then go grab some breakfast. Alright?”

“Breakfast... I don’t know...” said Sonja, nervously.

“We can get pancakes...” said Blackthorne.

She winced then nodded. “That... would be nice sir... Er, master.”

“Sir? I’m not a sir. I’m not even as much of a gentleman as my title claims... Just call me Blackthorne.”

She shook her head. “You have rank and title...”

He nodded to her. “I don’t know what that means here, but it isn’t much of a thing to me.”

“I see...” said Sonja softly.

Blackthorne sighed at the girl. Was this going to be a problem between them? He truly hoped not. She seemed like a nice girl. He would hate to have issues between them.

A soft giggle caught their attention, but they could not see the perpetrator. Blackthorne called out, “Is it you?”

The giggle erupted out of the air once more, but no answer was given. Blackthorne and Sonja were left to stare openly at the empty air while wondering what dark secrets it held.