Dungeon Novel 2: Chapter Three

The Undead marched into his Dungeon without hesitation. It was strange to see no Necromancers when the Undead were acting that intelligently and Unbound could see several Draugr and Bone abomination, Undead that would take the power of defenders equal to the third-floor boss to kill.

It was strange and dangerous, the lack of Necromancers a startling change from previous Undead incursions. The ‘wild’ Undead had been seemingly gathered to use against him or the nations in greater numbers rather than a trickle of singular attackers.

Undead were not social creatures. They were the antithesis of life and all it entailed, including the social communities living beings created. Whilst it was possible for some Undead to form small groups a group of the size currently attacking should require a Necromancer. It was part of the reason Undead had decimated all life upon the planet, the ability to increase your numbers at the loss of your enemies was a massive tactical advantage.

However, to work as one army they needed a Necromancer at the helm. They had astonishing abilities connected to the Undead, able to raise them forcefully, change them, empower them, and control them which leads to Necromancers becoming similar to a command structure for Undead hordes.

Weak Draugr marched in first, followed by the various Bone Abominations. Another sign that these were not wild Undead was that they wore armor. Matte black metal coated the Draugr, embellished slightly with golden lines that ran up the armor and the twin axes they held. Strangely despite the lack of armor upon the Bone Abominations, they had similar golden lines tracing their bodies.

The Undead summarily crush all resistance upon the first floor, the traps could not hurt them, and the defenders could not rank as more than a nuisance. But then the party of Undead met with the Adventurers. They had just returned from slaying the Bone Tearing spider boss, something that Unbound wanted to change in the future, and met with the Undead as they were killing everything in the seventh room.

The tank of the party, someone with a class that revolved around defending others, didn’t have a chance to react as a Draugr ax sunk into his shield. The fact it had to be carried high the only reason the man survived at first as the second ax cut into the man’s neck. The man’s neck was far tougher than normal, a result of higher levels, and resisted for a moment before the strength behind the swing registered and the neck was crushed flat.

The tank fell to the floor clutching at his ruined throat and the Adventurer behind the tank brought their sword up and slashed at the Draugr, but the sword skittered off the black armor and opened up the swordsman to an answering strike. The ax tore the throat from the swordsman and cast it into the tunnel wall.

The Adventurers had not simply stood frozen whilst their comrades fought, the two mages had brought up their hands to form complicated patterns and the cleric cast a healing ability upon the tank, partially restoring the man’s airways.

Twin lances of fire and frost blasted from the mage’s hands, shooting towards the Undead like ballista bolts. They impacted into the frontmost Draugr and the blast knocked the Undead back, slamming into a Bone Abomination in the process.

It gave the tank time to stand onto his feet, his throat partially healed. He used his heavy shield to knock aside the other Draugr and smiting it with his mace. The other Draugr tackled the tank’s legs and slammed him into the floor.

Without the defensive fighter, it allowed a Bone Abomination to sling several bone shards at the cleric. The various spikes shredded the man’s flesh, stripping skin, muscle, and fat away from the bone in the arm. It fell limp, reducing the man’s ability to heal his comrades. Of the other five shards, three missed and clattered against the stone wall and the other two impaled the cleric's stomach and chest.

The mages let out more spells, a fireball, and an icy wall. The fireball exploded against the Bone abomination, tearing apart the skeletal chest and firing it away. The ice rose from the floor to block off the tunnel and the Ice mage started to retreat down the corridor with the other two, leaving the tank amidst the Undead.

The tank died swiftly, his head torn from his shoulders in an explosion of blood and gristle through the joint efforts of two Draugr before the Undead hammered onto the Ice wall. Even as the moving corpses broke down the wall the other Adventurers had found the portal to the second floor and charged through with only slight hesitation.

The Adventurers stumbled towards the entrance to the ant’s nest and strode into it, knowing of the Undead behind them. The ants started to swarm them as they staggered through the tunnels, without a tank or swordsman to hold back the tide of defenders the three Adventurers were slowly overwhelmed.

The Undead were coming up behind them, having shattered the Ice wall and walked unhindered through the boss room they had swiftly caught up with the weakened Adventurers. With the ants blocking off the room to advance they were torn into from behind. The cleric falling with a shattered spine and the ice mage following with half his body sliding off the top.

The fire mage looked around terrified but even as Unbound watched the terror twist into determination. She placed her hand in between her breast and chanted even as the Undead and ants attacked her and each other.

She finished her short chant with a shout that made Elvinia gasp with shock.

“She can’t. Nobody would. They cannot be that desperate.” The fairy muttered to herself quickly. Her whispers brought Unbound focus on her.

“Nobody would do what?” Unbound asked swiftly.

“Watch.” That was all she said in reply and Unbound shifted his attention to the now glowing woman. Fire was flickering along the edges of her skin. The skin was fading, becoming more and more translucent as the flames grew bigger, her skeleton could now be seen through her flesh, it was pulsing a dangerous black color.

With a wordless scream, the mana around her erupted, a great fiery explosion erasing the weaker stone and dirt of the ant’s nest and all the creatures around her. Flesh cooked and boiled, bone and chitin turned to ash and blew away under the force of the detonation.