The air in the tomb was even colder than outside, but unmoving and incredibly dry and dusty. It was a pain to walk through the forgotten halls. Coughing was inevitable even when Ehrir covered his mouth and nose with his cloak. The place was also so dark that the column of light made by Salelia couldn’t illuminate further than a dozen steps ahead of the group.

The crypt itself definitely lived up to the expectations created by the pompous words decorating its doorframe. The three men and the witch spent a few minutes just basking at the sheer size of the first hall, lying beyond a small flight of stairs. It wasn’t much taller than an ordinary room, but at least a hundred steps wide and twice as long. A few dozens of simple granite sarcophagi with only one name engraved upon them were located within it.

“Here probably lie the lowest amongst the clan’s ranks”, remarked the witch with teaching tone while they navigated through the coffins. “They are untouched by that creature solely because its sense of smell is advanced enough to tell in which sarcophagus there are only bones and in which ones there are… Well, mummies.”

“And what do they do with those mummies?” Nidor seemed deeply disgusted. Ehrir shared his feelings.

“They eat them. Although the one living here has probably already devoured whatever dried flesh and skin is left on the dead… And eaten its own children and partner, if there were ones present when it arrived in the crypt.” Salelia shook her head. “Those things – they are called grave robbers, believe it or not – are incredibly nasty. Most of them have a spark of magical capabilities, too, so changing the color of their fur is an easy task.”

Her description of the thing that had killed the guard only made the three apprentices more cautious and gloomy. Little sparks curled around Zaster’s fingers, Nidor held his sword while Ehrir readied his magical energy to empower his own weapon. Yet, the witch remained calm as if she was strolling through a dining hall in some palace. Her current attire, containing black fur coat and high boots, looked both practical and warm but also very elegant. She acted both proud and as if not noticing her own strange and yet alluring beauty. That contrasted sharply with the worn-out, ancient environment around her.

Ehrir’s brows furrowed. The Undone One shook his head and tried to stop thinking about Salelia.

From the hall filled with sarcophagi began several corridors, all leading to smaller rooms. There were only a dozen of big marble coffins in each one of them, mostly covered in angular ornaments. The group inspected them closely, but they were all undamaged, except for one. It bore big, crude markings of claws upon its sides.

“This one… It hasn’t been opened for a lot of time”, quietly spoke Zaster while touching the sarcophagus’ lid with his fingers. “The layer of dust is too thick for it to have been.”

“The grave robber probably used it to mark this place as its territory”, explained the witch. “It wouldn’t be interested in the skeletons inside. We should go at least a couple of floors deeper to reach the parts of the tomb where the mummies lie.”

The group continued descending, finding new halls and a flight of stairs that led them into the crypt’s second level. Slowly the tomb’s rooms got smaller and smaller, holding only two people at most. Different niches in the walls appeared, too. In them rested a wide variety of treasures, such as necklaces, rings or small jewels. Nobody in the group dared to touch them – they had some respect towards the dead. Even Zaster didn’t lay a finger on anything, although he ironically remarked that a corpse stealing from corpses isn’t really a sin or a crime.

There were a lot more signs of the grave robber on this floor, including marks on the walls, heavy stink of an animal in the air and dozens of gnawed bones laying on the floor. Some of them were cracked or covered in holes made by sharp, pointy teeth.

The disciples focused on their surroundings with utmost attention and followed their mistress almost subconsciously. Ehrir felt both uneasiness and relief when they finally stumbled across the stairs to the third level without encountering the beast.

The lower floor contained vast rooms that held only one sarcophagus each – massive, made from black marble and covered in intertwining, elegant ornaments. The faces and names of the ones inside were engraved upon them. In these coffins rested the clan’s elite – elders, leaders, innovators and those closest to the monarchs of the kingdom. Their graves were undoubtedly beautiful in their design – from the masterfully-made coffins to the soft architecture of the rooms. Yet, they weren’t pretty now, just utterly devastated.

Broken lids, cracked sarcophagi and walls damaged by claws marked this level. The niches in the walls dedicated to treasures for the dead were devoid of anything but feces.

“Damn… That dust wasn’t enough, apparently. We have to deal with this shit now…” murmured Nidor under his breath. His face was twisted from disgust.

“Well, comrades… There are a lot of advantages about being an Unliving, you see…” Zaster said mockingly while pointing at his missing nose. His line lightened the atmosphere a little, but didn’t make anyone in the group any less focused.

It was a chore to carefully roam through the third level, especially with the different unpleasant smells mixing up in the air. Yet, there wasn’t a sign of the grave robber itself, not a sound, even.

“The only place left to search through in this whole crypt should be the halls where the clan heads were laid to rest…” Salelia’s smile was slowly dissipating and her words weren’t cheery and encouraging as before. “It probably has sensed that we are near… Make a circle formation. Quickly. I’ll join in, too. Additionally, let your magic energy fill you.”

Zaster and the branded boy reacted instantaneously and by instinct. It was obvious that they had a lot of experience when it came to battling under Salelia’s command. Ehrir showed coordination and understanding to a much lower level than his comrades and it took him some unnecessary seconds to prepare and take position. Still, he was in the formation mere moments after the others.

“Now…” The witch’s voice, despite its softness and girliness, was now serious and with a darker tone. “Move slowly while rotating and be ready to attack or counterattack at any moment. Maybe the grave robber isn’t here after all, but we should check every corner of the tomb. The lowest level included.”

The apprentices only nodded, each one seeming nervous and on his toes. They started moving according to the mistress’ commands, coordinating each other’s movements. Around them the crypt was silent, sending ghastly echoes of their every step. The corridors in these parts had high roofs and every sound resonated, coming back deep and powerful. These halls would be peaceful and invoking respect within the Undone One if it wasn’t for the damage delivered by the grave robber. The idea that people were willing to build such colossal underground palaces for just a bunch of corpses was both shocking and awe-inspiring for him. So many resources were wasted just for this crypt alone that it felt insulting at first. How many such structures just lied scattered across the mountains and forests, holding corpses with forgotten names inside of their stone wombs?

The thoughts flashed through Ehrir’s mind, but he pushed them out aggressively and concentrated. His attention got even sharper once another flight of stairs appeared before him. It was wide wide and dusty, with a lot of fresh marks from footsteps. Salelia smiled slightly when she saw them.

“Well, I guess our target is down there. Let me make a shield.”

After these words a shining, spherical and half-transparent force field engulfed the four people. They still remained in formation, obeying the witch, and moved within the shield with steady pace, descending onto the lowest level in the crypt.

They found themselves in a long, wide corridor with richly engraved walls. They were partially destroyed by the grave robber, their beauty simply devastated by both time itself and the creature’s claws. The footsteps in the dust were even more visible here. The group of sorcerers traced them to the end of the corridor, where a massive metal door stood and wait as some silent guardian. It was covered in rust and Ehrir could barely distinguish the clan’s insignia on it. It was widely open, revealing an ocean of darkness lurking beyond its frame. Salelia made the ball of light get bigger and shine brighter, but it could only illuminate parts of the hall’s floor in front of them. Ehrir felt the cold, heavy air rushing towards him as he stepped inside.

And then came the howls. At least three, high and aggressive shrieks pierced the Undone One’s ears and echoed around. Nidor cursed aloud upon hearing them, and Zaster let two balls of flame form above his palms. Ehrir got nervous, too, his magical energy rushing in and activating the sword’s passive spell, covering it in frost. Salelia didn’t do anything, only twitched her lips a little.

“Don’t let yourselves get nervous, young men.” Her tone was confident and warm. “Advance ahead slowly. It looks like there is more than just one grave robber here, but it doesn’t matter. The shield will stop them all.”

Ehrir could only nod silently to the sorceress’ words. And obey them.

***

“They seem hungry”, mentioned Zaster in a gravely manner.

“Oh, they sure are.” Salelia’s face was calm and emotionless as that of a stone statue. “Just one arm wouldn’t have been enough for everyone. The male is probably the only robber that ate and even he hasn’t satisfied his hunger completely, if that is the case.”

Ehrir swallowed. There were three beasts surrounding the shield – one male, one female and their child – smaller, but by no means prettier than its parents. The creatures were clawing at the magical membrane, but couldn’t manage to damage it even a little bit. A couple of minutes had passed since they had first arrived, but yet no action was taken by the witch to kill them.

The Undone One couldn’t wait any longer and spoke up after the undead man and his mistress exchanged thought about the beasts’ hunger.

“Mistress… What are we waiting for?”

Salelia’s expression turned to a slight smile, but there was no happiness in it.

“I’m just giving you time to prepare.”

“Time to… prepare?”

At this moment Zaster cussed.

“Oh, shit…” he mumbled. “I forgot to mention it…”

“You forgot to mention what?” Ehrir suddenly got a bad feeling in his gut.

“You came with me, so you’ve agreed to fight for me, in one way or another”, answered the witch instead of Zaster. “Take it as a form of a test or field practice. If things get bad, I’ll eliminate the grave robbers, so don’t worry. But I would like for you… To fight and kill them without my aid.”