Revenants

"Once again, I would like to thank you for coming to our help Louis." The meeting commenced as soon as everyone was seated, and it was the Captain to say the above words. He was pretty much straightened out, which was apparent in his visage.

"Ah! Never mind the small stuff, old friend. And it is my duty as the 'Merchant Lord' of Alison to protect the people from the dangers of the Red Forest." said Louis Dogbane with a big smile on his face.

"As far as I know, the 'Merchant Lord' isn't charged with any such responsibilities, my lord." His butler Balcro corrected him with his usual nonchalant voice and expressionless face.

"Is that so? Hahaha..." but the plump middle-aged man laughed out loud and replied with his usual big smile, "As I said, never mind the small stuff. Hahaha..."

"Mr. Dogbane, I have heard that you are a master in large scale destruction magic and in the elementary magic systems. My apprentices and I would be delighted if you would kindly show us some of your expertise," asked Lady Janet sincerely.

"Oh! Come on. He's not here for a trip, ya know?" and barged in the bearded dwarf Alfosdor.

"Yeah, enough fooling around. Just get it over with." it was the ex-prince Ryan, mean as usual.

Well, most people just ignore his unnecessary mean remarks, but sometimes Alfosdor retorts and this time too, "Young lad, that was a harsh way to put it, ya know. As far as anything goes, he is a Lord, you know." he failed miserably in the ignore-play.

"Hoh ho! You have it quite lively around here, Aldy." and so their guest laughed again. Quite a jolly fellow he is! But somewhere in the midst, a little seriousness came over him, and he managed to squeeze out a question. "By the way, how did you manage to send a message using the lay lines from here, Aldy?"

"That will be the handiwork of Alfosdor. Guess, such skills are necessary if you are living deep in the southern mountains." said the Captain looking towards him, who was still busy bickering with the young fellows. "Alfosdor, you listening?"

"Ah, Ah, yes, cap'n!" finally catching up, he continued, "My Lord, it can be done very quickly by using a rather rare spell, probably known only to the dwarf settlements from the southern mountains. The spell can be used to contact the 'Gnomes,' and they do the work for ya if your mana pleases 'em. In the past, the miners used to rely on them for their communications and safety whenever they went very deep in the mountains."

"That's marvelous, Alfosdor." The guest praised him and continued, "It's wonderful to have such skillful men in the team." He seemed very satisfied. "The 'Gnomes' are a really wondrous bunch. I have heard men attempting to contact them, and almost none of them succeeded in pleasing them."

"Hahaha.. well, that's true, my Lord. It takes a lot of hard work to get in their good books," said Alfosdor. "But some say that the 'Gnomes' are biased in their way of selecting."

"Hmm... they are a very shy bunch after all. These ancient earth spirits rarely make contact with people." continued Louis. "By the way, Aldy, do you plan to fully map the Red Forest this time?"

"I would gladly do it if I could, Louis. But we have already explored a lot in our way here. So, we are low on resources. And most importantly, we have lost some of our veteran warriors. It will be a struggling fight for survival from now on." the Captain answered. "I would have called it a day if you weren't here, Louis."

"Right right, mapping the whole southern bank of the Abworth river, you have achieved something tremendous big this time, Aldy. Even if you return now, I guess, they will revere you as a hero or such." his old friend said with a warmth in his voice. "So, why are you fixated with continuing Aldy? In the thousands of years of recorded history, no one has ever crossed to the east. And now that we are down on men, even with my help, it will be challenging, you know."

"I know. It will be tough. But I want to make one last try Louis," the Captain said with a distant look in his eyes while sinking in his chair. "From my childhood, I have heard stories - stories of the beautiful flowery plains and cozy little abandoned houses of the far east. And, maybe, at some point, I thought about retiring there."

"Hahaha..." his friend laughed like anything. "That sounds really strange coming from you, Aldy. Retiring to a tranquil place surrounded by flowery plains - has MoonHarbor caught you that hard?"

"I don't know for sure, my friend." The Captain chimed back in. "But now that we are here let's try our best. This time we have a bigger group than any exploration team in the past, winter is not here yet, and the winds are certainly calmer than usual. Also, a local of the Red Forest who has been living here for a long time has joined us. Though I want to keep him away from the frontlines for his safety, he will certainly be helpful as a scout and a local guide." Saying so, the Captain turned towards the newest member of their group, who was curiously examining a dagger embedded with various spells, borrowed from one of Louis's party members. "I suppose you have already met him."

"Ah, yes. Admittedly I had met him, not only here, but also when he came to remake his 'id' in the town hall." Louis said, while looking at the newcomer with a certain interest in his eyes. "He is a relative of a certain eccentric friend of mine. They live somewhere in the northwestern end of the forest, in some recently discovered historic ruins."

"Oh, so you know his guardian too. Can you, like, request him too, to help us in this expedition? I can arrange for money and rewards if they so desire." asked the Captain with excitement reeking from his voice.

"Hmm... It will certainly be an overstatement to say that I know him." This time it was Louis sinking into his chair. "And I highly doubt that you will be able to persuade him with money or rewards. But one thing that I certainly know about him - he is a genius magician and a scholar."

"Oh! Is he some big shot?"

"He may be.. to the people who know him. But for a High Elf like him, who have probably lived longer than both you and I - I suppose there are very few of those people." He continued, "But if he has entrusted his relative with you, then perhaps there is not much to worry."

"I hope so.." Saying so, both of them looked at the pale-skinned child who was still curiously looking at other items in the Captain's tent.

"Well, let's discuss our plans for tomorrow, Louis."

The meeting continued for sometime in the night. It was decided they would rest early tonight and get up early in the morning. Then they would pack their things by noon and depart as soon as possible.

----

After much discussion and deliberation last night, the plan was laid out as such - they would first travel north from their current location to reach one of the major streams that flow through the Red Forest called the 'Rake'. From that point onwards, they would follow it until they come out of the Red Forest at the southernmost shore of the Lake of Alison. And then they would cross the Lake along the bank to reach the 'East'. The Lake is almost impossible to cross by sailing on it, as the wind is low and small boats are capsized by large monstrous fish and other creatures living in the middle of the Lake.

As per the schedule, the group was ready for the journey by noon. Essential food items and clothes were loaded on their small, maneuverable horse cart, and the instruments and weapons that could be stored away in their cases were stored. The rest of the little things were put inside backpacks, which were to be carried by everyone. Now there are 49 members in the group, including the ones that joined them later.

Alfosdor and his party took the frontlines, as usual, followed by Filbert and his party. The others followed behind with the Captain as the rear guard. Kenny, Lady Janet, Mylisant and Louis Dogbane were at the center, tasked with protecting the group at the flanks, and guarding the cart as well all the other non-combatant members of the group. As they planned to leave out the mapping of the Red Forest for this time, the group was more focused on just crossing the Red Forest without many casualties.

----

Kenny was very excited to be a part of such a large expedition group as it was the first time for him. Taking in everything he could, he concentrated on doing the job that was assigned to him by the Captain, that is finding a proper route and protecting the others.

Sometime after they have started their journey, the Merchant Lord of Alison, Mr. Louis Dogbane, walked up to him, and they had a little chat.

"So, Kenny, where are you originally from?"

"I am from the far west, my Lord, born in one of the pixie villages in the elven woods. Though I don't remember much about my homeland. As I left when I was very young and haven't returned for a while now." Kenny beautifully excerpted from the story that was taught to him by the professor.

The merchant lord gave out a gentle laugh. "Ah, well, as expected. Though it would have been a pleasing experience to hear about the mystical Elven woods," he said. "You should return to your home once in a while."

"Yes, whenever I get the chance, I certainly will, my lord," said Kenny respectfully. "I am currently studying various topics under the professor. So, it might be a while, 'till I get the chance."

"Is that so? Does he also teach you magic and combat arts?"

"No, my Lord. The small number of combat arts that I know have been taught to me by sister Mimosa."

"Mimosa? Is she that scary maid of the prof.?" he asked jokingly.

"Hahaha, well, yes, my lord," Kenny replied with a smile as well.

Suddenly Kenny sensed a few rabbits like creatures, some 500 meters away from the group. When he looked by using his far sight abilities, they looked similar to the rabbits that he knew, but the ones here are definitely larger and faster, and omnivorous. Some were hunting other smaller rodents, and others were eating berries and mushrooms. Indeed, these red-eyed white creatures are dangerous than the ones Kenny knows.

Ryan, the ex-prince, also noticed them. He immediately geared up his bow and shot an arrow.

But the wild rabbits were faster, and with their sharper senses, they easily avoided the arrow.

"Damn it. I almost got them," Ryan said with disappointment.

"Leave them be, Ryan. We should not spend time on hunting," said Lady Janet. "We have to reach the stream by nightfall."

It was then, suddenly, Kenny felt a faint, but very pleasant magic presence in the surroundings, similar to Mary-san, emanating from - or so he guessed to be, Mylisant, the leader of the scouts and the rangers. Or maybe he was wrong, as in the next moment the presences turned vile and amplified, and were definitely... coming from under the ground.

"Enemies ahead..." shouted the dwarf Alfosdor at the top of his lungs.

They were corpses or more like skeletons, and... they were moving, digging their way out of the ground. A visible thin film of mana enveloped their bones and whatever dried skin or organs left on them, with a mana core embedded in their chest area where the heart is supposed to be. Many of them carried old rusted weapons like swords, daggers, and spears, and others picked up fallen branches and stones, whatever they could use as weapons.

Though an average person who has never seen such a monster before, would be very terrified by the vile and repulsive-looking undead; the veteran adventurers of the expedition party adapted to the situation very calmly and took their battle positions.

But the most surprised one was Kenny. He had spent most of the time practicing and playing with Mimosa in the Red Forest as if it was his own backyard, but he had never before heard of these creatures, let alone see them.

Of course, Kenny didn't know that these weaker monsters are generally afraid of Kenny and Mimosa when they are not suppressing their strong magic presences. So, they would never show up to attack them. But now, as Kenny is containing his magic presence to a bare minimum, the well-known as well as the rare and dangerous monsters, for which the Red Forest is infamous, are starting to make their move.

"Hahaha... the forest is starting to make its greetings," Louis said with excitement in his voice. "Don't you worry, Kenny. These skeletons are the lowest level of undead monsters, with an average level of about 100. We can easily beat them if we are careful."

"Louis, we shouldn't spend much time on time. Finish 'em up with a big one," said the Captain.

"As you wish, Captain," replied Louis jestingly and then loudly announced with excitement in his voice. "One big one, coming up."

Then he pulled out a pretty wand from his holster, which is usually hidden by his long coat. His wand is a foot-long stick made up of unknown materials, with a metallic look and a crystalline handle. The whole thing sparkled with beautiful painted designs.

He held his wand high and started pouring mana in it. His slightly reddish mana collected and converged at the tip and shot off multiple firey spheres, similar to the wind ones Kenny used to make, but smaller and faster. Though they looked like they were shot randomly, many of them managed to hit the target. The Skeletons were blown away by the blast and completely destroyed. Though there were more than 30 of them, all of them were done-in in less than a minute.

"That was wonderful," praised Lady Janet. "The mana was used quite efficiently." The others also looked admirably at him.

"That comes naturally with experience, young lady. I am sure anybody will be able to do that with enough practice."

"Well then, let's continue when we have the chance," said the Captain. " I am sure that these were not the last ones of them."

And he was not wrong, a small force was set into motion in the shadows, working to halt their advance, and it was nothing but trouble for the expedition group, while possibly quite crucial for others.

----

The small wraiths of the Red Forest, which are freely foraging for lifeforce and mana, was a surprise for the adventurers from MoonHarbor as well. They had never seen anything like the fog-like mischievous wraiths before. Though most of them are harmless, they are parasitic in nature. Occasionally a strong one would show up to attack the group. Shaped like rabbits or other rodents, they would attack with mana balls and bullets or sometimes with 'stun.' The mages of the group were enough to handle them, and so the group continued without any major hindrances. Though the most surprised was Kenny, to find many unusual creatures living unnoticed near his house.

It was late in the evening, and the group still hadn't reached the stream, so they decided not to stop. And in the darkness, more unusual creatures came out to greet them.

The non-corporeal phantoms or ghosts, damaged by the sunlight, were the ordinary beings that attacked at night with their 'confusion' and 'stun' spells. But they are highly ineffective in people with levels above 200. So, they were largely ignored by the group.

The stronger wraiths, who would occasionally show up, were troublesome opponents for the dwarfs, who knows only a particular branch of spells. But Filbert and his party efficiently dealt with them with their magic endowed swords and shields. The ones who made past the frontlines were one-shotted by Louis or Janet.

The group finally reached the stream by about 10 at night. The mountain stream has a fast-flowing current that cuts a gorge through the forest. It was no surprise considering its name 'Rake.' And when they looked down the cliff, they could see a beautiful rocky stream, with frozen parts here and there, and lovely blue fireflies hovering above the water.

No, when they looked closely, they noticed that they were not fireflies. And, as soon as the expedition group was seen by them, they swarmed up the cliffed.

"Be careful, they are ghost lights," Alfosdor warned everyone.

Quickly the group was surrounded by them, and - there were many of them. The blue flame-like wraiths spread a cold wind as they pass over their heads. The temperature dropped fast, leaving everybody trembling in the cold.

Everybody attacked with any spell they knew. Though they were effective in destroying the wisps, they were slowly overwhelmed by the numbers. Some of the stronger wisps also attacked with ice bullets, but they failed to penetrate the strong leather armor worn by everyone.

"Young Lady, let's pull up a big one again," Louis shouted amidst the confusion.

"Yeah, we need to attack them with fire," Janet said by stealing a glance at him while confronting the wisps.

"Right, buy me a few moments."

"Okay."

He started pouring vast amounts of mana in his wand, which collected at the tip and glowed brightly. Then he raised his wand atop his head, and a sizeable firey snake emerged from the tip, which began to devour all the wisps.

"I will take care of the riverside. You handle the rest." As he said that, another firey snake emerged from his wand. Janet poured in her mana in her wand, and took hold of that snake and attacked the rest of the wisps. And so, with the continuous effort of the two, all the wisps were defeated.

After confirming that no more of them are near, everybody breathed a sigh of relief and loaded Louis and Janet with praises.

"That was very exciting," said Louis with modesty. "I haven't used that spell in a while. So, I was worried if it would fail. But the young lady marvelously handled the spell."

"I was able to handle it easily because you had splendidly formed the spell, my lord," said Janet with embarrassment.

"We would have been in big trouble, if both of you were not here," chimed in the Captain.

"Ah Aldy, I know you would have defeated them some way or other," said Louis. "Well, let's talk later. We should find another place to camp for the night, as the remaining ones might attack again."

"Yeah, right." said the Captain and shouted his orders. "Everybody get up. We keep moving."

They traveled upstream, keeping a fair distance from the cliff, until Mylisant who was sent ahead of the others, reported that she had seen a big cave down the cliff near the bank of the stream.

When they reached there, they were surprised to see the strange cave on the opposite side of the cliff.

The Captain decided to investigate it. "Aldosdor, make a path to go down with your magic."

"Aye, leave that to us, captain," replied Alfosdor.

Saying so, he pulled out a large war-hammer from its case and went towards the cliff. Some 10 meters away from the cliff, he lifted the hammer with all his might and struck the ground. The hit sent tremors in the field, and the cliff broke down in a landslide. His other party members cast another spell, which hardened the ground after the landslide, making way for the whole party to move down the gorge.

The rubble from before has got into the stream, making it shallow enough to be crossed by just walking. But when the group reached the entrance of the cave, they were greeted by a deafening cracked roar.

Alfosdor and his party, who were at the front lines, were the first hit to be hit by the roar. It contained 'paralyze' and 'confusion' effects, but they were not very useful as the dwarf party had high resistance against such spells.

"It's a 'Draugr'." The Captain yelled at the top of his lungs. "Al the non-combatants get to the other side of the river. Janet, you keep them safe with a barrier."

"Yes, Captain."

"Others get into formation. Dim the mana lights and keep your presence low." He gave his next orders. "Alfosdor, you keep its attention. We will attack from the flanks."

"Get ready, it's coming," yelled Alfosdor.

As everyone got ready to confront the Draugr, a terrifying silence prevailed on the bank. The moonlight didn't travel deeper into the cave. So, their enemy was in complete darkness. A few moments later, it finally came out - large and horrifying with pale dried skin sticking to the bones, and large glowing blue eyes, wearing old worn-out leather armor and carrying a long broadsword. Everyone buckled up their courage as they readied their weapons.

Suddenly, more mana gushed up the Draugr, as if reviving its dried up muscles, pumping more strength in its bones.

"It just activated full body enhancement. It will be coming with its full power. Be careful, lads." The Captain warned everyone.

"""Aye."""

But the Captain was mistaken this time. He didn't notice the other smaller Draugr mage, which was hiding inside the cave and buffing its ally. Though Draugrs have very little intelligence, they are lead around by their will when they were alive, and they retain their strengths and skills. Moreover, they receive various racial traits and benefits when they become Draugr. They are greedy and have violence oriented motivations. With their level averaging around 300, they are a dangerous foe for the living.

Kenny, who was at the rear guard of the attacking squad, immediately noticed the Draugr when it woke up and used magic. He decided to take this one by himself to help others.

By using his high-speed movement, he quickly slipped out of everybody's notice and went inside the cave. But, the smaller Draugr noticed him and quickly pulled out a bow and arrows and shot. Kenny easily avoided the arrow and fired a very powerful mana bullet in return. Though he aimed at the Draugr's chest area, it managed to avoid an instant-death by quick movements. But, still, the bullet managed to hit its left hand and tore it off from above the elbow.

The Draugr, now enraged, pulled out a dagger and charged at Kenny for a close-quarters battle. But was quickly overwhelmed by Kenny's speed. Kenny caught it by its remaining hand and slammed it on the cave wall. The Draugr's head cracked by the hit, and its the lifeforce drained into its heart area, forming the mana core. The battle inside was over in a few seconds, but the struggle outside has just started.

Alfosdor released all his magic presence, luring the Draugr to attack him.

The Draugr released another roar at point-blank range on Alfosdor. But he managed to protect himself by quickly pulling out a broad shield from its case. The little damage he received was healed by his auto-recovery skill.

Alfosdor quickly counterattacked with his massive Warhammer. The Draugr blocked his attack with his broad sword and unleashed a strong kick. His other party members tried to block his strong kick but were blown away by the Draugr's superhuman level strength.

In the small gap, Alfosdor managed to make a thrashing attack with his shield. The Draugr stumbled, and Filbert and the others didn't miss that chance and attacked from all sides. The Draugr tried to block with his sword but failed, and the attacks hit him at his fatal spots. He noticed that his partner has not been buffing him anymore, either. Enraged, he made blind attacks at everybody. But his superhuman strength attack was splendidly blocked by the Captain with his big black broadsword.

The Draugr attacked restlessly, but all of his attacks were parried or blocked by the Captain. And when all of its attention was on the Captain, a small but mighty fireball hit its back.

"Thanks, Louis." said the Captain.

"As I said, don't mind the small things and quickly finish it."

The Draugr, whose back was on fire, struggled to maintain his stance and was attacked mercilessly by all. Finally, the Captain put it out of its misery by beheading it with one strike.

"Aldy, haven't you become a little rusty?" Louis asked passionately to his old friend.

"I am sure its the age. Now then, let's check the insides of the cave quickly. I am sure you felt the magic from inside too."

"Yeah, it was a powerful momentary surge. But I think it was Ynni, as it felt - very 'formless.'"

"Whatever it was, I am sure we will find out soon. Alfosdor leads us inside."

"Aye Cap'n."

"Louis, I want you to stay here and protect the others."

"Don't worry about us. Go and investigate the unknown source."

But by now, Kenny was out of the cave, and the Draugr was killed. So, they would never find out what happened inside the cave.

Kenny again followed the investigation party inside the cave-like a pure rear guard.

Upon closer look, the cave looked like a natural one. But signs of people living inside were apparent in the diggings here and there. There was also trash like a torn rag, clothes, animal bones, and rusted tools lying here and there.

About 200 meters inside, they saw the corpse of the smaller Draugr.

"Its skull has been crashed by a hit in the wall, Cap'n," Alfosdor confirmed.

"Be careful, there may still be lifeforce in it. Shoot fireballs on it from afar."

As Alfosdor burned the Draugr, Filbert asked, "Old man, are they supposed to be so dumb to go and simply hit their heads on the wall."

"Well, their intelligence is supposed to be very low," replied the Captain. "It might also be the work of the other one we fought outside."

"They are pretty dumb..." Losing interest in the undead, Filbert began his investigation with his party members.

"Aye, there is an iron chest," announced one of them.

"Ah! Draugrs are supposed to be guarding their treasure chests, aren't they?" interested by the thought, everybody rushed in to check the chest.

It was a regular old metallic chest, about 3 ft long and 2 ft wide. "Alfosdor, come check it." called the Captain. As unknown treasure chests can have poisonous substance and weapon traps, they should be opened very carefully. Alfosdor, having the highest resistance, is often asked to do such a dangerous job.

After taking care of the Draugr, he put on leather gloves and slowly opened the chest, covering the rest of his body with his shield.

But anticlimactically, the chest didn't contain any such dangers. There were some old clothes made of monster materials, some weapons, ancient coins, and mana potions. But upon closer look, they discovered some rough writings, in the old language, on the underside of the cover of the chest. It was decided that a copy of that message will be sent to the university to be decoded later.

Leaving behind the chest, they went further inside to investigate. The cave got narrower, and some 400 meters inside, they found a large metallic door blocking their path. Increasing the brightness of his mana light, Alfosdor checked the door for some contraptions to open it.

Suddenly a memory flashed in the Captain, and he yelled, "Alfosdor, get away from it. It's a seal."

Alfosdor quickly hurried back. The Captain continued, "And it will be better if we leave it as it is for this time, 'cause I think I know what is inside. It is a sealed dungeon."