At the bottom, we found a set of double doors, closed. I cautiously tried the handles and they turned, starting to open. I quickly shut the doors again.
“Not locked. Shall we go in?” I turned to the others.
“Go ahead,” Thornhold said. “But be careful.”
I pushed open the right hand door and peeked through. No more hallways. We were facing a large chamber, and at one end of that chamber, there appeared to be a sarcophagus.
“I think we’ve come to the end point in this dungeon,” I said, stepping carefully into the chamber.
“It would make sense. Given how low level we are, I don’t think I’d expect too many more enemies hidden in here,” Brynn said. “They wouldn’t have thrown us into anything beyond our capabilities.” She followed me in. “So, I assume our adversary is over there in that sarcophagus?”
“I’m assuming so,” I said, looking around the room.
The chamber was spacious, with dim lights emanating from within the walls. The walls were dark stone, but not natural—this room had been cut out of the stone, the walls polished so that they reminded me of black marble. The floor was even, and not just chiseled into the stone. The only fixtures in the room were the sarcophagus, a table at the other end that reminded me of an altar, and a few benches. And yet, as empty as the chamber looked, there were presences here.
I caught my breath. “We aren’t alone. I can feel something around—” I paused as a shadow flew by. “Ghosts?”
“Ghosts,” Ray said. “I can feel them. Especially over by that table, and near the sarcophagus. They’re shades—not just spirits. Which means they can be triggered off by something, but I don’t know what.”
“Where should we start?” Thornhold asked, sounding unusually quiet.
I glanced at the table. There were items scattered across the top.
“Let’s start over there,” I said, slowly heading toward the opposite end of the chamber. The others followed. As we approached the altar, I realized I was barely breathing. The energy here was oppressive, heavy and thick. I glanced back at the others. Ray was holding onto his holy symbol. It was on a chain around his neck, but he still grasped it, as though afraid something might try to steal it away.
“You feel it too,” I said.
Ray nodded. “Something’s just waiting for the right moment, and I don’t know what it is.”
“Right moment for what?” Reggie asked.
“To attack us,” Geoff answered. “Don’t you remember? This chamber was in the game—in the MMO. My party and I went through it. I remember now. That sarcophagus holds an important artifact—though we never managed to get hold of it. My entire party was killed when the shades attacked us.”
Instead of being irritated that he was giving away spoilers, I was relieved. At least we knew what to expect. “What else do you remember?”
He thought for a moment. “There are shades attached to one of the books on the table. If we pick up the book, it releases the shades. That’s what killed my party. Ray, do you have holy water?”
Ray nodded. “A couple vials of it. Why?”
“We didn’t. I know that holy water disrupts shades and they turn corporeal for a few moments. That’s when you swing at them—and that’s precisely what killed my party. We didn’t have a cleric with us.”
I gave him a long look. “You went into battlewithouta cleric?”
“Nobody wanted to be one,” Geoff said, shrugging.
“Well, that was stupid.” I shook my head. “Ray, get your holy water ready. If there’s an artifact in there, we want it. We have no idea how long we’re going to be in this game, and we’re going to need every advantage we can find.” I didn’t want to think long-term, but the logical part of myself insisted it was necessary.
Ray fumbled through his pack. “Got them.”
“All right, if you have silver weapons, get them ready. They’ll work better against undead, including shades and spirits.” I pulled out my silver dagger, grateful I’d thought to buy it. Itmight be ornamental, but the silver made it so much more efficient against creatures from the shadows. The blade glowed with a blue light.
“I’m ready,” Ray said.
Reggie was putting the finishing touches on some spell. “Everybody gather around. I can cast a minor protection spell on us—it will give both combat and magical protection a boost.”
We huddled around him and he crumbled the leaves in his hand, held them up and then sprinkled them around us.
“Light and dark, balance bright, protect all within my sight,”he said, and there was a weight to his voice that sent concentric rings of energy in a circle around us, spreading out in waves. The energy felt like a cool breeze, rippling through us. It calmed my mind and I felt clear-headed, as though a dome of glass had formed around us.
