Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

The Valley of the Dead (II)

Eldi used Rock Wall in a somewhat irregular way. Instead of borrowing the power of the earth to create the wall, he hardened the already existing earth.

He had tried it days ago at the suggestion of a girl from the mansion. Those who had heard her had laughed at such a thought, but the high human had found it interesting. Therefore, he had been trying it with improvable results, although the girl had been excited to see her idea come to fruition. For that alone, it had been worth it.

For now, he only got a mass of uneven hardness. Although it was similar to Rock Wall, it also had its differences, as it wasn't so easy for him to carry it out. He would need time and training.

However, it was enough. He hit the skeleton again with the hammer, against the areas that had hardened the most. The bones broke under the power of the heavy and powerful weapon, and the small fragments were purified due to Purifying Touch.

Immediately after, he released a Burning Blast, which charred the rest of the bones. He turned for a moment toward where the walls were. After seeing that they were holding on, he turned to the other side.

There, the lynx was jumping among the skeletons. The damage she did to them wasn't much, but with its greater weight, she pushed them to the ground, thus stopping them from getting up.

Gjaki was right behind. She seemed to have fun crushing them with a huge hammer, with which she tried to deliver a primitive Devastating Blow. She had been trying to learn the hammer skill for a while, and felt that she wasn't far from achieving it.

Goldmi had placed a Light Abyss behind the walls. As soon as they passed them, the trap would activate, thus warning them and giving them time to react.

Instead of firing the more efficient Light Arrows, she was using Light Balls. In that narrow place, it was easy to hit in any way, and she could level up the spell in this way. By now, it was already at 3.

She had the advantage that the effect on her allies was to barely blind them if they weren't prepared. Not even Gjaki was affected, since she had trained with Goldmi her resistance to light magic. On the other hand, the undead were very vulnerable to that magic.

They continued advancing until they reached a crossroads, in a slightly larger area where the tunnel forked. The elf summoned a Light Ring while some Bats were exploring both tunnels.

"That one is a dead end. Let's clean it first. I'll put a gate, and we'll close it," Gjaki proposed.

They did so, as they easily destroyed the undead. Their level was still lower, and purifying magic was their nemesis. It is not that without it they would have had many problems, but it did make things easier.

Gjaki set up the Exit Gate, and they blocked the tunnel with several rocks. It wouldn't take much to set them aside, and they hoped the rock barrier would be enough to keep the undead away. If not, they would have to travel longer the next day.

When they turned around, it was evident that the density of undead had increased. Those in the caves had been concentrating there, and those outside had already crossed the walls and the traps.

"It's convenient to have them all together," Eldi assessed.

"Well, at first you didn't like them that much," Gjaki mocked.

"They only surprised me for a moment!" he protested.

"The great Eldi Hnefa scared by a level 11 zombie that had thrown a head at him. If only your admirers knew..." the elf also mocked.

"Look! A huge undead spider!" the high human pointed out.

"Eeek! Where!? Eldi! Dummy!" Goldmi protested when she realized that she had been deceived like a little girl.

"Ha, ha, ha!" the vampiress laughed. "Leave the games for later. It smells terrible in here."

"She's right about that, it's unbearable," the lynx complained to her sister.

The goshawk didn't complain. She had stayed outside, watching. She was informing them of the situation outside.

"More and more are arriving. The holes you have made are full. They've piled up at the entrance," she had told her sister.

It was convenient to have them together, as they could eliminate more at the same time. Of course, they were also in danger of being overwhelmed. In that case, they would open a Gate to the nearest place, so that the bird could join them easily.

Goldmi cast some Light Balls again. Eldi simply used the hammer against those which approached, as did Gjaki. The vampiress was still determined to obtain the skill.

They made their way to the fork, which was filled with undead. They were pushing each other, and even climbed on top of each other to try to follow the aura of the living. Even the specters were stacked against each other

"We need heavy artillery," Gjaki proposed, somewhat overwhelmed by the number.

Although they had no big problems eliminating them, more and more kept coming. Since reaching the fork, they had been unable to move forward. If it continued like this, in the end, they would end up being overwhelmed, and have no choice but to flee.

"I'll clean this. Eldi, can you deal with the exit tunnel?" the elf proposed.

"I'll try. I don't know how effective it'll be, and I'll run out of mana," he warned.

"If it doesn't go well, we'll leave. I'll take care of the other tunnel. Will you come with me?" the vampiress offered and asked the lynx.

The feline nodded. She couldn't speak, but she understood her, and elementary communication was possible.

"Perfect, shall we start?"

Goldmi advanced to the front that was being contained by the other three. Once there, she summoned a Light Pillar. Her companions took care of those in front of them, since the Pillar had been cast too far forward to reach those few. However, there were barely a dozen of them, and they soon created a corridor for their companion, while taking care them.

Goldmi summoned a couple more Light Pillars, which reduced her already not overflowing mana reserve. Despite using potions, she couldn't recover as fast as she was spending.

Eldi then advanced towards the tunnel through which they had entered, which had been partially cleared.

"Say it out loud!" Gjaki asked.

"No way," he refused.

"Party pooper..." the vampiress complained.

While they were talking, Eldi moved forward and concentrated a large amount of mana. Goldmi covered him with Light Arrows this time, instead of the Light Balls that were already at 4.

The four elements that the high human mastered were concentrated in his hands. From them, a powerful beam of light emerged.

"Kamehameha! Elemental Beam!!" the vampiress exclaimed. It made the battle mage sigh and the druid archer chuckle.

It didn't have the purifying effect of light magic, but its destructive power was more than evident. Furthermore, without a doubt, a tunnel was the ideal place to cast it, as it was impossible to escape. It swept everything in its path, with enough power to even continue several hundred meters out of the tunnel.