Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth

by WeirdRaptor

A novelization of the original game. Follow Lenneth Valkyrie on her mission to gather the souls of the heroic slain in preparation for Ragnarök. Secrets, lies, and conspiracies mire her path. Will she succeed, or will all fall to darkness?

22. Chapter 21: Cave of Thackus 1

Valkyrie Profile:

Lenneth Novelization AU:

Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyrie Profile or any other tri-Ace properties. Please support the official release.

Chapter Twenty-One:

The Cave of Thackus I

"Ah, good evening, Headmistress Lorenta, always a pleasure to see you."

When Lorenta returned to her office, he was already waiting. "Oh, welcome Henry! I'm shocked to see you here so soon. I did not expect you to arrive for at least another day."

Henry just shrugged almost mischievously, as if to say he had nothing better to do, although Lorenta knew that couldn't be farther from the truth. Still, she smiled fondly as she looked him over. Dressed in a hooded cloak like a holy man's, her visitor folded his hands in his lap as he stood up from the chair in front of her desk and bowed in greeting. His hood was down, allowed her to see his pale, wrinkled face which was thin and worn from years of service. He had bright blue eyes which seemed almost too young for his aged form, and his bald head reflected the candlelight. He had a long white beard like many imagine wizards to have, and a bushy mustache and eyebrows to match. Although no one could tell from his loose-fitting robes, Henry was still fit despite being in his twilight years.

"Too early?" Henry asked. "And here I was worried I was late. Your message came to me so last-minute, I scarcely had time to prepare and head out to answer your summons. Your letter made this matter sound like urgent business."

"It is urgent business, Henry, but please, sit down," Lorenta motioned for him to take a seat. She walked around to sit at her desk. "I do apologize for calling on you so suddenly, but… Oh, where are my manners? Before we get down to business, may I get you something? I would hate to be a terrible host. I have my receptionist brewing some Jasmine tea already."

"Oh, uh, nothing for me, thank you," Henry reclined with an easy tone.

"Very well, but do speak up if you change your mind. Now then…." Lorenta went quiet as she folded her hands on her desk. She looked down and seemed to study her fingernails while she considered how to begin.

"Headmistress?" Henry prompted.

She looked up, evidently feeling uneasy about what she had to tell him. "Are you familiar with the St. Thackus Institute of Hydrology and Microscopic Research and its founder, Dr. Trygve Toft?"

"Er… Yes, I have heard of him," Henry answered thoughtfully. "He was a mage who specialized in healing magic and medical alchemy. He had theories about microscopic organisms which could travel through the air that have since been confirmed as scientific fact. I…"

Henry hesitated, scrunching his face as he tried to recall all the details. "I think the church denomination on Isle Thackus gave him funding and a place for him to conduct his research and experiments. I don't rightly know the details, but something went wrong which just killed the whole endeavor. Is this relevant to why you called me, Lorenta?"

"It is, Henry," Lorenta's tone was grave. "A byproduct of those experiments now presents a clear danger which must be stopped. If it is not, our entire Northwestern shoreline, all of Isle Thackus, and Crell Monferaigne's southeast coast may become the breeding ground for the Undead and other horrors."

"Heavens," Henry gasped. "…Go on, Headmistress."

"You see… The incident which ended Dr. Toft's research killed quite a bit more than just the endeavor, Henry. It killed him, too, along with most of his researchers. They had fresh water ported into the labs which were placed in large tanks. In one, water would be treated with deadly acidic chemicals, and another would be charged with dark magics. All in the name of studying how it either changed the microorganisms living in the water or formed new ones."

Henry's head swayed as the ramifications welled up in his mind, and he let out a big breath.

"So many dangerous chemicals in the same labs, Lorenta?" he asked. "The negatively charged water alone releases noxious fumes which draws Undead and other monsters."

"It can also cause monsters to grow in it like it was a womb if not kept diluted up a certain concentration," Lorenta added.

Henry's grip on the arm so the chair tightened. "...I am beginning to see where this is going, Headmistress."

"Not that hard to guess, is it?" Lorenta's deadpan tone carried no humor. "There has never been any official word about what exactly caused of the containment breach, but the possibilities are only a few. The tanks holding the various kinds of polluted waters broke for one reason or another, and it all came spilling out and mixing together. That resulting deadly concoction burned through facility foundations like normal water through paper and into the earth below it, forming a new series of caves. To keep the water contained, both Magi and engineers from our own Flenceburg dammed the water behind a sluice gate charmed with a magical seal."

Henry let out a silent "Ah," as it finally clicked. "So, that's why you called me, a Sigil-Keeper. I assume there is a problem with the seal, then?"

Lorenta nodded, still looking grim. "Yes, it is weakening. We have received reports of an increase of Undead and monster activity in the Northwest shore of Isle Thackus where the facility and the cave are located. Crell Monferaigne on the other side of the strait has reported a similar increase on its southeastern shore."

Henry gave a sour chuckle. "No surprise there, Isle Thackus is a land bridge between Flenceburg and Crell Monferaigne. Wouldn't be hard for a disaster on that island to be felt in both our nations."

"Which is why it will spell disaster for us all if the seal breaks," Lorenta said. "There is enough contaminated water producing noxious gasses trapped in that cave to flood the island's entire shoreline If it busts free. It'd also unleash whatever horrors have been born but kept contained behind the seal upon the realm."

"You sure know how to put a man on the spot, Milady," Henry said wearily.

Lorenta visibly swallowed uncomfortably. "Will you do this, Henry?"

"You know I don't really have a choice after hearing that," he replied. "What kind of seal was used?"

"A seven-point sigil, utilizing the Teiwaz rune as its basis," Lorenta answered. She then opened a drawer in her desk, and took something out, which she placed in the wooden surface. "Take this medallion. It was made from the horn of a unicorn and endowed with the magic from a Phoenix plume. It's the same one they originally used to make the seal. The medallion will restore the seal with the right incantation. Moreover, it will point you in the right direction in the tunnels. Let it hang by its cords and it will swing in the direction of the seal."

"Understood," Henry reached forward and gingerly grabbed the medallion before slipping the cord around his neck as he examined it. "Yes, if it uses this item, the spell will be one of old Sage Bennett's. I have all his seals memorized."

"That is why you were chosen for this mission," Lorenta replied. Then her gaze turned aside as guilt hit her. "Be warned, Henry, the sluice gate lies deep in the caves. There are remnant pools of impure water which will burn you at the touch, and they do still produce noxious fumes and sometimes birth monsters. Beasts and Undead roam those caverns."

Henry looked back in apprehension. "You cannot expect me to do this alone."

"Of course not, Henry. You are welcome to any equipment and assistance that is in my power to grant you. Prepare a list of assets you will require and have it on my desk by tomorrow morning. I will have them ready for you in three days."

After the arrangements were made, Henry set out and arrived at the valley along Isle Thackus's shore with a troop of twenty men on horseback. Each rider brought a large bag for the gear they'd need for the mission, which were currently tied to the saddles. They stopped as they neared the edge of the ridge and surveyed the same valley Lenneth and her einherjar would five days after them. He saw the same half-melted and collapsed ruined research facility and unnatural cave entrance below it.

"Is it even structurally safe in the Thackus Cave?" Henry wondered. "The things I do for you, Headmistress."

"Ha!" he spurred his horse, and it took off down the slope, followed by the other magi in his troop. They descended the hill, leaving the tracks Llewelyn would find. The wind blew quite freely as they crossed the grassy field, which consisted of rolling hills interrupted by only a few frees in their ride to the Cave of Thackus. Henry reached into the collar of his jacket, checking to ensure the medallion was still there. It comforted him to feel it still there as his fingers brushed across its surface.

"It will guide the way," he reminded himself.

Up ahead, there was a small cluster of trees about forty feet from the cave entrance. The riders slowed down and stopped there to tie off the horses. Twenty-one men, counting Henry, all dismounted their steeds and began to prepare to enter the dangerous tunnels. They took the large bags from the saddles and then divided up the work. While ten of the men tended to the horses, Henry and the other ten opened the large saddlebags up, retrieving both gear and protective clothing.

"Captain Biggs," Henry called to his first in command. "I want you select two men to mind the horses while the rest of us venture in. Make sure they too have protective gear. Even outside the Thackus caves at this distance, I can't be sure of what will happen."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Biggs replied and set about his task.

Henry then stripped off his cloak and dug into his bag, pulling out leather protective clothing, enchanted to counter the polluted waters and fumes within, which included overalls, tall boots, gloves, a long overcoat, and a shirt with a tight hood which left the face uncovered. After he put them all on, he pulled the last thing from the saddlebag, a birdlike plague mask. He put it on and turned a little dial on the underside of the beak. Spell circles ignited on both sides of the beak, indicating the magically powered respirator function was now active.

They took out more magically-powered equipment from the bags as well, some of which had to be worn like backpacks in and of themselves. And of course, each man came with their own magical wand or staff. When the eighteen men who were departing into the caves with Henry were ready, they marched the remaining distance while the last two men remained with the horses. It seemed to the horse handlers that Henry's crew was swallowed by the darkness when they crossed into the unnatural cavity in the cliff face.

Five days later, Lenneth and her einherjar would come upon the grisly remains of the horses and their designated supervisors after the harpies came down from their nests in the research facility's ruins. On that same day, Lorenta sent out her Familiar Truly to uncover what had become of the missing magi team.

In the present, all was quiet at the cave entrance. Sunlight streamed in, lighting up the area just inside before it faded out into blackness beyond. Two figures poked their heads from around both the corners of the cave's mouth to peer inside. They stood, watched, and listened for a moment, before sidling in, keeping to the sides with their backs to the wall. They both eyed a trail of dried blood which ran the entire length of the cavern before ending abruptly at the entrance. It was likely one of the harpies had snatched up the wounded, fleeing man who had left it just as he escaped the Cave of Thackus.

Lenneth was on the left, with her sword gripped tightly in both hands and held close. Llewelyn was across from her on the right, with his bow ready. They were both only two steps inside, but thanks to their enhanced eyesight, they could both see well enough to discern the entry tunnel was empty. It split into two paths in the back, with one passage on the left leading upwards towards the lab. The other was a hole in the floor in the very back, from which the blood trail originated.

"I don't think I like this place, Lady Valkyrie," Llewelyn commented uneasily.

Lenneth gave him a quick look in the corner of her eye. "That is quite alright. I think this cursed place loathes us just as much."

Even standing just inside, both of Valkyrie and archer could the detect the faintest forewarning of noxious fumes wafting up from the hole in the back. They could also see the inside of the Thackus caves looked as molten and lumpy as the exterior had. The entire tunnel was smooth like a volcanic cave, except for the strange greenish-blue color which matched the crab giants they had fought in Port Thackeur just a little while ago. The only jagged edges to be seen were the odd chips in the wall here and there.

It was so eerily quiet for a cave system they knew to be housing monsters, that neither one could relax. When Lenneth turned to call the others in, Llewelyn trained his bow straight toward the back in case something unseen was lying in wait for them to stop paying attention. He lowered it again when he heard Nanami and Belenus sidle up beside him. Arngrim, Jelanda, and Lawfer joined Lenneth on the other side. Nanami was already quietly praying and had a paper ward readied. The little talisman shined briefly as the spell was imprinted on it. Nanami opened her eyes and smiled.

Jelanda's eyes followed the blood trail to the hole in the back. "…How horrible."

Lenneth looked at Nanami from across the way. "The path is clear of enemies for now, though that may change the instant you begin cleansing the noxious air below."

The shrine maiden just nodded resolutely back at their Valkyrie. "I understand, Milady. Leave it to me."

Lenneth nodded towards the back of the cave. "Then let us begin. Lawfer, Jelanda, you cover Nanami while she works."

"What will the rest of you be doing?" Jelanda asked.

Lenneth pointed up at the passage leading up. "Arngrim, Belenus, Llewelyn, and I will be watching for trouble from there."

Lenneth looked at each of them, then. "You have your orders."

Without another word, Nanami started over to the pit, shadowed by Lawfer and Jelanda. The knight walked in pace beside the shrine maiden, senses attuned to everything around him. He was ready to jump between her and an attack the instant it happened. Jelanda held her scepter upright as she silently conjured the necessary energies to begin casting.

Lenneth, the swordsmen, and archer stopped a little farther back than the others to keep an eye on the other tunnel. As the four trained their eyes on it, looking for any movement in the shadows, they noted they couldn't see very far up its slope, as the ascending tunnel curved almost straight up not too far inside. Anything could just suddenly drop from above.

"I wonder how likely it is the harpies ever come down through there," Lenneth thought.

She considered entering it and flying up to peek through the other end, but decided against it. No need to risk bringing on more trouble than would inevitably find them, anyway.

At the edge of the hole, Nanami looked down over the side. Even with her improved eyesight as an einherjar, it was dark and difficult to see if there was anything there. The way down wasn't as straight a drop as it first seemed, but a slope gradual enough for them to traverse on foot. It started as a fairly narrow tunnel, but gradually became a wide cavern. How big, exactly, Nanami could not tell, as the slope leveled out further down and continued past her vantage. The fact the air became thick with a sickly green mist near the bottom made it even harder. She could, however, see more holes on the sides in the slope in plentiful numbers. There were also pools of murky water, which looked like they'd been festering there for ages. More mist emanated from them as well. Some of them were mere puddles while others were just big enough to swim around in.

Beside Nanami, Lawfer was ready to push her away from the edge and place himself in harm's way at the first sign of trouble. Jelanda had already settled on a spell she wanted to cast. The princess was perfectly still except for her eyes, which darted between the holes and bigger pools below.

"There could be anything waiting in those holes and even hidden in the bigger pools," Nanami thought. Then she shook her head, and clapped her cheeks lightly as she mentally berated herself. "No, stop it, Nanami! Bad girl!"

Taking a deep breath to remain calm, Nanami centered herself, willing away thoughts of unknown dangers. Her pressed her palms together as she finished mumbling one of the many, many ceremonial prayers she had memorized over the years. She bowed twice, and then lightly clapped her hands twice as well before sitting down on her knees.

"How long will this take?" Jelanda asked.

"Shh!" Lenneth hissed from behind.

Nanami took out the paper ward she had psychically imprinted the spell on, gripping it lightly in both hands, and then bowed once more.

"[This place has become unclean]," she chanted in her native Yamatoese. "[Here on the edge of the darkness, we beseech thee in the Heavens. By the Divine virtue of the gods, please let me ask this place be purified and cleansed of its sin and pollution]."

Then she raised the paper ward high above her head before slapping it down on the floor in front of her. From that simple piece of paper, a bubble of shimmering energy expanded downward, washing through the tunnel below and neutralizing the polluted air, and even suppressing the fumes from the pools. The smaller pools even seemed to become fresh water again. Nanami looked over her shoulder at the rest of the party.

"The way has been purified. We can proceed," she declared. "I don't know how far it stretches, but I've come prepared to do this as many times as I must."

Lenneth marched forward, flanked by Belenus and Arngrim, who kept a vigilant watch for any surprises from the side tunnel while Llewelyn had rear-guard. Nanami stepped aside to give Lenneth space to look down the hole. The battle goddess paused, getting a feel for the area below. Indeed, the air had been cleared of toxins.

Lenneth nodded in approval to the shrine girl. "Well done."

Then she motioned to the entire group. "Onward, my einherjar."

Nanami beamed in response. Lenneth turned away without any further fanfare and hopped down into the sloping tunnel. The bottoms of her boots dug into the smooth rock surface as she inched her way down. A little ways down, she stopped, noticing several long markings, which looked like…

"Claw marks. In solid stone," Lenneth said to herself.

She crouched next to them, getting a good look. They were like scratch marks from an oversized cat, running between four-to-six feet in length and about a half-foot at the widest. The patterns denoted only a four-toed massive creature. Lenneth looked further down and saw they were many. Some were old and dulled, while others were still sharp and new.

"The Undead Dragon has been through here many times," she reported to her einherjar. "We must be cautious."

The next ones down were Belenus and Lawfer, followed by Nanami and Jelanda. Arngrim and Llewelyn were last, watching everyone else's backs as they took careful steps to avoid slipping. As they continued the plunge, they found it difficult to walk in certain places, and ultimately had to just slide down to better footholds when it became too steep. Or Lenneth's case, no jump was ever too big for her. Lawfer and Belenus assisted Jelanda and Nanami at the roughest points in the path, such was their gentlemanly manner.

The crew eventually found themselves down the incline far along enough to see how much the tunnel expanded. Lenneth hopped down onto a relatively flat ledge along the way and surveyed the chamber below as the einherjar filed in to join her.

"Oh, dear," Jelanda said grimly, with an expression to match her tone, and the rest of their faces as well.

Arngrim made a rumbling sound in his throat. The tunnel had expanded into a roughly dome-shaped chamber with a high ceiling, riddled with holes and cracks leading to who were where. The tunnel floor didn't level off. It came to an end an abrupt end at a large oval-shaped green pool of polluted water.

"It looks like rotten pea soup," Arngrim grimaced.

The air of this chamber was mostly clean, too, for the time being, but some noxious gasses managed to escape from this large pool. The polluted water took up most of the lower half of the chamber and there was little place to stand once down there. The walls were lined with more tunnels all leading further down. The stone bank of the pool was narrow enough they'd be going single file once on it.

The entire group looked on the precarious footing they'd be dealing with, and did not like the look of it at all. They also thought they saw something moving around in the pool, but the water was too thick for them to make anything definite out.

"It could be the dragon for all we know," but Arngrim kept that thought to himself.

A glance at Nanami, who looked fretful again reaffirmed that decision. "No sense in scaring her before I know it's anything worse than a Mire Creeper."

Belenus then spoke up, his tone and words frank. "There must be a good fifty tunnels down there. We could be at this for some time."

Lenneth glanced around at a few of the holes, looking for sign of recent human activity. "Perhaps not. Those men who arrived before us came through here, too. Let us see if we cannot follow their footsteps."

"Uh…" Lawfer stammered almost anxiously. He raised his fist to his mouth and coughed conspicuously into it. He gulped down his unease and tried again. "Begging a thousand pardons, Lady Valkyrie, but is that wise? The blood trail leading up from here does not inspire confidence."

"The path of those men is the only heading we have," Lenneth answered. "We should at least find out why they were here."

Then she took a knee, touching her palm to the floor as she concentrated.

"Those men met their ends in this cave. The lingering resonance of human thought will be strong enough to be detectable even in this overload of negative energies," she thought.

When she allowed her senses to take over searching, it did not take long for her to pick up the proverbial scent. It possessed a sense of urgency shared by all the previous party to come through the mire of darkness surprisingly well. A powerful drive to push downward into the caves despite the danger their posed.

"Such determination," Lenneth thought. "Just what drove this expedition, then?"

Lenneth looked towards the tunnels on the right, feeling the call of human thoughts and emotions most strongly in that direction, but the other energies in the cave interfered just enough to prevent her from pinpointing an exact location.

"Over there, on the far right," she pointed. "If we search for signs of recent human activity, we can at least keep on their trail."

"What if they were goin' the wrong way?" Arngrim asked.

Lenneth turned to him coolly.

"I have already said why. Do not make me repeat myself," she sternly responded.

Then she hopped down to the next ledge before anyone else could protest. The einherjar looked among themselves, but knew they had to follow her. Shrugging, Belenus stepped forward and jumped down next.

---

"Curious. The miasma should be much stronger, even out here at the entrance. Were the rumors about the impending disaster wrong?"

Lorenta's white dove Familiar Truly landed on the branch of a tree near the entrance of the Cave of Thackus as she pondered this development. She looked all around, and listened for any noises, too. There did not seem to be any monsters nearby, but the grim sight of the dead horses and men under another nearby cluster of trees told a different story. Truly looked up towards the ruin of the facility, considering going up to investigate.

"Maybe I should do that last. Master ordered me to find Sigil-Keeper Henry and his team before anything else," she looked back at the entrance.

Nodding to herself, Lorenta's Familiar hopped off the branch, taking flight again. She switched from gliding to the flapping her wings at she entered the cave system.

---

"Hup!" Lenneth landed on the last ledge from the bottom.

It was a lumpy, rounded thing that did not allow its occupant to stand on it comfortably. With the narrow bank about the pool just six feet below her, the goddess jumped down. It was only four feet across, but made of very smooth, even slick, lumpy stone, which then dropped off sharply into the water.

Behind her, the thuds of Belenus, then Lawfer, and Arngrim's feet clunked against the rock above her as she watched the pool. She felt at least a few presences below the greenish depths. Lenneth did not take her eyes off it even as Belenus slid off the lumpy shelf, landing on her left. Lawfer then came down, landing on the other side of him.

"Something sets eyes on us from below the surface. Be on your guard," Lenneth warned them.

With that, Lenneth headed right, moving towards the call of lingering human thought, with Belenus and Lawfer following her. They all stopped in front of one of the many tunnels along the wall a short distance away, waiting for Arngrim. The heavy thud of his boots behind them echoed more than any of them would have liked. The scarred mercenary stood with a hand to the Dáinsleif, watching the water closely as he remained by the platform, waiting for Llewelyn and the magi.

"Lady Valkyrie!" Lawfer pointed towards the edge of the water ahead of them. Something had almost broken surface, leaving a trail of ripples. "There! Something approaches! Perhaps more than one!"

As they all looked, Llewelyn had just jumped onto the last rock before bank as well. He paused, looking where Lawfer directed, too, but assisting the girls in getting down. First Jelanda, then Nanami. As the shrine maiden was getting her footing, she looked towards the right and saw something rise form the water.

"Llewelyn, Jelanda, look!" she pointed.

All seven pairs of eyes watched the three shapeless masses of red glop break surface, each possessing one central yellow eye that stared up at the party from the water.

"Mire Creepers," Arngrim grunted. When he glanced around, he saw four more coming from the left, behind them. "Got more comin' up on our asses."

Lawfer looked up at Llewelyn and the magi to instruct them, "Aim for the eye."

Lenneth also glanced over her shoulder towards the archer and the magi. "Llewelyn, Jelanda, Nanami, stay up there until I call for you."

"Yes, Lady Valkyrie," Jelanda and Nanami both compliantly answered.

Two of the Mire Creepers on the right moved upwards onto the bank quickly, rolling onto it with swift, jerking movements to block Lenneth, Lawfer, and Belenus. The third sped through the water towards the men with intent of dragging one of them into the acidic water with it. It surged up to Belenus, stretching its own body out into gooey tendrils. The noble leapt lightly about, keeping his legs out of reach. Lawfer ran over as quickly as he dared on the slippery stone to assist, with an eye on the water at all times.

Belenus finally jumped to the side, well out of the Creeper's reach, and raised his sword high.

"I think not, villain!" he swung his blade across low, forcing the Creeper to duck back into the water.

Another of the Mire Creepers burst out from the green water under Arngrim's feet in attempt to drag him under, too. The Dáinsleif came down with the swiftness of a hawk, cleaving the vile thing through its eye. Its yellow eye-fluids spattered everywhere as its formless mass collapsed and broke apart in the pool.

"Arngrim, heads up!" he heard Llewelyn shout.

Arngrim looked to the other Mire Creepers in the water. The next closest to him had stopped out of his reach to open a large "mouth" in the center of its mass. The mercenary tensed, preparing to evade the acid spit he knew was coming. Then one of Llewelyn's arrows pierced its eye, killing it. It spewed a short stream of steaming green liquid that fell far short of the bank and its intended target while its body fell apart in the water. That just left the remaining two.

From their perch on the rock, Nanami realized what might have happened to Arngrim if Llewelyn or Jelanda hadn't been fast enough, and began focusing on a healing spell.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the conflict, Lenneth zoomed across the bank at the first of the two Mire Creepers blocking her path. Her sword already drawn back to the side and ready to strike. The slime beast never had a chance to process what happened before her blade punctured its eye up the hilt and out the back of its "head". Whatever force held the boneless thing together gave out and it dropped to the stone floor, draining back into the pool like dirty water dumped from a bucket.

Then Lenneth set sights on the next Mire Creeper behind it. It'd seen what happened its kin, and its eye retreated behind the muck which made up its body when Lenneth's stroke swept across. Its natural defense activated, making it instantaneously solidify. The Valkyrie's blade bounced off the hardened surface, and she stumbled back with a body that was vibrating painfully. Her teeth chattered together with such force it rang in her ears. She now remembered why everyone, herself included, hated fighting these things.

With Lawfer and Belenus, a Mire Creeper emerged at Lawfer's feet with its mouth already open. Before the knight could bring his halberd down to strike it, the slime beast spewed a wave of steaming green liquid all over him. Lawfer's halberd clattered against the ground as he began clawing at his face, screaming. He backed into the wall right next to the entrance of the tunnel behind him. The Creeper reached out for him but instead received Belenus's sword through its eye for its trouble. He'd dashed in quickly to assist the knight.

With the creature slain, Belenus turned to Lawfer as he screamed in agony and blindly backed toward the tunnel. Seeing him about to go over the edge into the unknown, Belenus grabbed the knight and yanked him away. Belenus groaned in pain, nearly screaming, as his hands were burned from clutching Lawfer around a body which was still drenched in the burning liquid.

"First Aid!" Nanami's spell washed over both men.

Lawfer fell onto his knees as he was released from much of the burning pain which had seared his face and might have fallen into the water altogether if Belenus didn't keep hold of him. His face still retained some burns and was tender to the touch, but nothing like it'd just been.

Another Mire Creeper emerged from the water, swelling up to spit at them.

"We need to move!" Belenus shouted.

He and Lawfer both shot to their feet and were prepared to dive to the sides. Then the beast was suddenly incased in one of the Lenneth's ice crystals. It drifted away, even as the icy surface began to prematurely melt in the toxic water.

The second Mire Creeper Lenneth faced watched her briefly turn away and saw its chance. Its body liquified and it opened mouth to spit at her. However, the instant she got her icy blast off, she jumped into the air, over the torrent of acidic liquid the creature spewed. It had just a split second to realize the heavy 'clank' it heard from behind was the Valkyrie landing. Then her sword thrust through its body and burst from the sickly yellow of its eye.

"Frigid Damsel!" Jelanda trained her scepter on the Mire Creepers approaching Arngrm from the water.

From its crown shot three icy spectral forms, each carrying a sword of ice which zipped through the air. They spread out and dive-bombed the slime beasts, cleaving them in half through the bodies and eyes as they did.

"Ha- Ah, shit!"

Jelanda watched as Arngrim's sword bounced off the hardened surface of the Creeper which had gone into defensive mode. One of Llewelyn's arrows also bounced off its hardened hide like it was nothing.

"Damn, those things have a great defense," the archer muttered. He altered his aim to another, further back, which was still undefended. He fired, nailing it in the eye. "Gotcha!"

Jelanda screwed her lips to the side, deciding on a course of action. The princess looked around and also saw Lenneth, Lawfer, and Belenus being thwarted by the creatures' defensive measures. One of the slime beasts only unhardened around its mouth was to spit at Lawfer again, but this time he jumped out of range in time.

Jelanda lightly elbowed Nanami.

"Hmm?" the other girl looked at her.

Jelanda spoke low, as if hoping the Mire Creepers wouldn't hear. "Nanami, Lightning. You aim at the Mire Thingies attacking Lady Valkyrie, Belenus, and Lawfer. I'll assist Arngrim. Let's see if we can't break through those shells."

"Mm!" Nanami nodded in agreement.

Arngrim snarled as two more Mire Creepers glided up to him from the water while the one in front of him remained solid. He hated it when they did this. It was a common tactic they used. Individually, Mire Creepers were weak, which was why they're pack hunters. One would 'run ahead and charge their prey frontally, but then go into shell mode while others came in from the sides to overwhelm their prey. The ones attacked would solidify, while the others re-liquified to spit acid at their quarry.

"Hey, dummy."

Arngrim looked over his over at Jelanda with a rebuke on the edge of his tongue. Then he saw her shimmering with magic and knew to drop into a crouching position to get out of her way. She focused on each of the three Mire Creepers, and cast, "Fire Lance!"

The comet-like fireballs shot out from her staff, flying in different directions. One of them nailed a Creeper in the water before it had the chance to dive or solidify, obliterating it. The last two fireballs struck the one up on the bank with Arngrim. The simultaneous blasts broke the front of its shell, exposing the slime and its yellow eyeball underneath. Arngrim pushed off with his legs, diving forward and driving his sword through the break in the creature's shell.

"Everyone!" Nanami called. "Watch out!"

Lenneth, Lawfer, and Belenus all looked up at her and saw her about to cast. The men flattened themselves against the wall while Lenneth dropped to a knee. The ball of electricity formed between Nanami's hands, which she split into three smaller orbs. Inspired by Jelanda's use of Fire Lance, she had an idea.

The first bolt arced out and struck an unprotected Creeper that'd been about to spit as Lawfer, splattering it everywhere. The second blasted upper half of the shell away from one facing off against Belenus. The noble saw the slimy, exposed innards and jumped from the wall, driving his sword straight down into the thing. His thrust skewered the eye, leaving the Mire Creeper's lifeless goo gathered in lower half of its broken shell. The final bolt blasted a hole in a third one's shell which also destroying its eye, killing Lenneth's opponent.

The party then looked around, but spotted only a single Mire Creeper further out in the pool. It looked at the remains of its destroyed packmates and then sunk into the green water in full retreat.

"Is that it?" Belenus asked.

"I don't see anymore from up here," Llewelyn called from the rock.

Lenneth motioned for the others. "Come, my einherjar, before that thing returns with reinforcements."

Within a moment, Llewelyn and the mages joined the rest of the party down on the narrow stone bank. They stopped only so Nanami could fully heal Lawfer, and then they were off to the far right end of the pool. Lenneth still walked at the head, followed by Lawfer, then Belenus, then the archer and mages, and lastly Arngrim. When they were close to the area Lenneth felt lingering human thought, she began looking for a physical trail.

"Be on the lookout for any sign of that other troop," she ordered the einherjar. "It could be anything from the smallest trace to…"

She trailed off as she spotted something metallic up ahead on the ground in front a particularly large tunnel entrance.

"There! I see something," The Valkyrie sped up, briskly walking toward it.

When she got closer, she realized the object wasn't simply resting on the floor, but was a long, iron nail that had been hammered deep into the stone up to its ringed top. One end of a rope was tethered to it and it had been taken into the tunnel. Lenneth poked her head into the tunnel, and saw it was a vertical shaft the rope hung down the side of. The shaft went very deep. Not even with her enhanced night vision could the Valkyrie see the bottom.

Lawfer and Belenus also poked their heads in.

"They were certainly bold," Lawfer muttered.

He then stepped away from the shaft and got down on one of his knees to examine the iron bolt in the ground. The knight gave the iron stake a couple of tugs, but it did not wiggle around in his grip even slightly. It'd been set very firmly into the rock. The stake was also brand new, with a shiny, almost reflective metal surface.

"Recently driven in," Lawfer observed. "And they certainly ensured it'd stay. Not a speck of rust on it yet and the rope's in good condition, too, for being down here."

Lenneth and Belenus turned from the tunnel, indicating they were listening.

"That's a sturdy mountain climbing bolt," Arngrim's gruff voice came up from rear. "These guys were taking no chances with being able to come back up."

"I don't get it. What made them pick this one out of all these passages?" Jelanda stared with a cocked brow. "The townspeople made it sound like no one's ever mapped this place."

"There's more than one way to find your way around," Nanami pointed out. "I was never an expert on it, myself, but there were several scrying tools at the shrine I grew up in. One of the other priests used one to find water a few years ago when there was a drought."

"Indeed," Lenneth stood up. "For the time being, we will stay the course. Now, we descend."

Then the einherjar suddenly found themselves hoisted into the air, and then dragged along when Lenneth jumped over the side. Lawfer and Nanami both tensed and she nearly screamed as they began falling.

Lawfer looked around at Arngrim, Jelanda, Belenus, and Llewelyn's lack of fear. "How on Midgard did they ever get used to this?"

He was brought out of his thoughts when they stopped suddenly, just a few yards down into the shaft. He looked at Lenneth, who stared keenly at the wall below the exit.

The goddess pointed, directing her team's attention to it. "Look, these are the same claw marks from before. Handiwork on the Undead Dragon. It seems he's been up and down this very shaft many times."

"So those men were on the trail of the dragon?" Llewelyn asked.

Lenneth looked down there shaft again. "Perhaps…"

There are countless four toed marks dug into the wall, heading both up and down, and in all stages of freshness.

"Looks he came back down just the other day from how fresh these descending ones are," Arngrim reached out and ran his hands over some of the fresh marks. "We're in for a Hel of a fight once we get down there."

"Be ready with the next ward, Nanami," Lenneth ordered.

"Yes, Lady Valkyrie," Nanami had already begun casting.

After a moment, a protective bubble formed around them which kept out the miasma in the vertical tunnel. Lenneth and her einherjar exchanged looks, a silent communication that all were ready, and so their drop recommenced.

Unbeknownst to them, Truly the Familiar had found them and watched they vanish down into the vertical cavern.

"One of Odin's Valkyries?" Truly questioned from her perch on a rock high above the toxic pool. "Master Lorenta will never believe this!"

Then she dove from her perch, gliding straight for the tunnel entrance to follow them. She stopped, flapping her wings to hover above the hole, watching the Valkyrie's team dive deeper.

As they went, Arngrim turned himself in the air to watch the rope as they passed it by, expecting to see it suddenly end with a frayed end. Jelanda, Llewelyn, and Lawfer kept wary eyes on any holes in the walls of the shaft, and Lenneth slowed whenever they came upon any. However, there were no signs the other party what disembarked from the rope at any point. So, their own descend would speed up again.

After around fifteen minutes of a controlled fall, they came to the natural end of the rope with plenty of shaft to go. Lenneth stopped them to get a look around. Six or seven feet before the first rope ended, a second climbing bolt had been driven into the shaft wall, from which a second thick rope hung.

"To think those chemicals were able to burn a hole this deep in solid rock…" Belenus murmured in both awe and fear as he looked down, but still could not see the bottom.

"They said to go deep. I guess this means we're on the right path," Nanami murmured.

"Yeah, but what coulda been so important down this far?" Arngrim questioned.

"We will uncover that," Lenneth answered.

"What if they have all perished?" Llewelyn inquired.

"As if their shedding of mortal coils would be of any hinderance to me," Lenneth wryly looked at him.

He hadn't a second to decide if he should also find that amusing before their flight down the shaft continued.

There were no more stops along the way. After a while, the bottom finally became visible, and tunnel opened into another chamber around them. Lenneth stopped just below the bottom of the shaft and looked around. There was a wall not far behind them, so they only had to keep their eyes pointed forwards and to the sides. The vertical tunnel had exited into a deceptively large cavern of many columns, stacks, holes, and even haphazard walls which went halfway up the chamber, giving it an almost mazelike appearance as it stretched out into the distance. Drapery formations hung almost to the floor in places, isolating off whole sections almost into their own chambers. There was also a great crack which ran the entire length of the cave near the center. It was wide, the kind of hole that simultaneously horrified and enticed cave explorers.

Lenneth began to float down towards the floor again, but then stopped again when they were within ten feet of it, but not to make for a softer landing. It was because of the scene awaiting them below.

"Oh, goodness," Nanami gasped behind her hands.

Below was a site of dark crimson strains against greenish stone, covered in shredded corpses, that had mostly been picked clean of their flesh, leaving fresh bones lying everywhere. There were no complete skeletons around. In fact, the most intact corpse was but a limbless torso with the upper half of its skull gone. Nanami again remembered the day when monsters from outside Hai-Lan's protective barrier got in. However, even the slaughtered farmers were still in better condition than this. The backpacks the men had been carrying with them were also torn open and the contents were spilled everywhere.

Lenneth slowly set them down on the floor outside of the dark crimson of the dried blood. As soon as they were on solid ground, Nanami repeated the ritual which had cleared the air in the area above them. After she slapped her hand down on the floor again, the bubble around them expanded, nullifying negative energies and deadly fumes. The others had formed a protective circle around Nanami, all facing outwards, until she was finished. They did not break formation even after the air was purified, for something was bound to notice as the Mire Creepers above had.

After several moments of quiet, Lenneth gave the command, "Let us examine this scene of carnage."

"No way we're this lucky," Arngrim muttered with his hand to Dáinsleif.

Keeping an eye on the dark around them, they moved closer to the remains and began investigating. Based on a very rough guess, there looked to be about five or seven bodies in total. Perhaps more.

"Be careful not to move anything unless I tell you to," Lenneth told them.

She received nods and a couple quiet "Yes, Lady Valkyrie's" from all around. Before looking over the bodies, Lenneth approached where the bulk of the supplies still lied. Their attackers had opted to leave these things behind for whatever reason. She hoped to find something of use among them.

The first thing she came up to was a satchel that had been torn open, but she could see it still held at least part of its contents. She crouched and gingerly pulled the ends of the rip apart, revealing several potions in jars with thick glass. She took one of them out and read its label.

"Citric Acid," it said.

"That's…" Lenneth took another out. Its label read, "Sodium Sesquicarbonate."

"These are for neutralizing toxic chemicals," she realized.

She put the two compounds back, turning to another sack, a simple leather bag with a pull top. It was empty. She picked it up and turned it over, shaking out whatever might be left into her hand. Only bread crumbs, bits of what was probably cheese, and small shreds of meat collected on her palm.

"Whatever attacked them was only interested in food," she muttered. When she looked around at the mauled and devoured corpses of the men, she felt a bit silly for even making that observation. "…Obviously."

"Hmm…" Arngrim was down on his knees and one of his hands, leaning over one of the more complete bodies. "These teeth mark don't look like any animal I know. They're mostly flat, like a human's."

Lawfer was paces away, down on a knee by the limbless torso with the missing upper skull.

"This poor fellow just looks like he was pulled apart by multiple attackers," he reported. "There are some bruises in the shape of hands here, but no teeth marks to speak of. Seems though they came upon those undead the sailor spoke of."

"Somebody peeled the flesh from this one before devouring it. I'd know the work of a hunter with a seax anywhere," Llewelyn was on all fours with his eye right next to a skeleton arm from which only a few sinews of muscle and flesh still clung.

"It looks like somebody went through the pouches on their belts afterwards, too," Jelanda squatted in front of a discarded belt.

She gingerly lifted the torn sides apart, revealing more bits of food. Lying around the belt were several castoff items, like a magic wand that'd been snapped in half after being stepped on, a broken compass, among other things. Anything that wasn't food was left behind like refuse.

"I think I found a journal over here," Belenus called.

Lenneth looked up from searching scattered items on the floor. He was at the center of the group, standing over a book with a damaged cover. He was holding a ripped backpack. Her first instinct was to be angry at his disobedience, but seeing that his impertinence had wielded something very promising, she quelled it almost instantly.

"What does it say?" Lenneth asked.

Belenus stooped and picked it up. It was a simple dark blue leatherbound tome. He could not read the title, as the rips on the cover had rendered it completely illegible. So, he flipped through its contents for a moment. The rest of the group stopped what they were doing to listen.

"'Tis a spell book," Belenus reported as he flipped back and forth between a few pages. "From the Table of Contents, it looks like this belonged to a Sigil-Keeper. The bulk of the spells are based around lifting curses and sealing dark forces. This book has everything from instructions on how to contain a demon to keeping dark spirits out of your house. There's also a particularly lengthy section about maintaining seals."

Everyone glanced at Lenneth as she deliberated this new information. Belenus shut the book and held it under his arm.

"Best we hold onto this," he patted the book's torn cover.

"Is that is what they were down here for? To seal something?" Nanami asked.

"Very probably, given the contents of that spell book," Lenneth answered. "And…"

She turned all the way around, reaching out with her senses. "The vilest of the energies in this place feel… muted. As though they are being contained."

Arngrim stood up, glancing around at the many places an enemy could be hiding. He was holding a mostly undamaged satchel he'd found near one of the bodies. He'd opened the flap, also finding books inside. He lifted them up one by one just enough to see their covers.

"More spell books here," Arngrim reported. "Definitely a band of mages. Looks like a lot of these were centered on dealing with toxins and poison, too."

"That would explain how they got down this far, for all the good it did them," Belenus muttered.

"Yeah, it looks like this is where their trail ended," Arngrim grimly agreed.

"Perhaps not," Lawfer suggested. "About twenty came in based on the tracks Llewelyn found. If I had to guess, totaling these remains and those under the trees above, we've only found roughly half the group."

"The other half probably got dragged off to the Undead Dragon's nest," Arngrim said.

"There's also the blood trail at the entrance," Llewelyn said. "Things did not go well for these guys."

Jelanda eyed the book Belenus held in the corner of her eye. "I doubt the mage who owned that spell book would have left it unless he was forced to."

Arngrim looked at Lenneth. "What's the plan, Valkyrie?"

Lenneth regarded the magi party's scattered belongings.

"Search their packs and gather up everything that's left. There may be more clues to be found yet," she ordered.

"What about you, Lady Valkyrie?" Nanami asked.

"I am about to do some searching of my own," the Valkyrie then turned away. "I will join you in a moment."

She closed her eyes and raised her hands with her palms out.

"Now… to see if they were indeed able to press on as Lawfer said they might," she thought.

"More Valkyrie stuff," Arngrim muttered. Then he waved at the scattered gear and other things on the ground. "Come on, let's get this stuff gathered while she finds us a path. Hey, Llew, your eyes are sharp. Watch our backs."

"Yes, sir."

Lenneth's mind had already entered a different plane of existence, one where the world was even darker and murkier than the toxic cave showed to the naked eye. Through the suffocating fog, she searched for a light, any remnant of human thought she could find.

"Aha!" a small victorious thought rang out as she detected it.

Through the veil of darkness, she sensed the same desperate resoluteness that already brought them this far. There were survivors of this attack, and they pressed on, determined to finish their mission. With her senses, she pinpointed the trail, which cut right through the center of the mess of columns and rock that was the cavern before them. She sensed their path took them deeper yet, to the massive crevice in the middle of the chamber.

Her eyes slowly opened, and she could almost see their forward path as if there weren't countless stone columns and rock formations in the way. She turned to join her einherjar finishing sorting the belongings of the previous party. Belenus was supervising, and had had them sort the items into organized, neat piles. Any surviving texts were in one, while magical items such as potions, and Spell Crystals were in another, and equipment were in a third mound. At the moment, Belenus, Jelanda, and Arngrim were leafing through any still-legible pages. The Sigil-Keeper's book was still hooked under the nobleman's arm. Nanami meanwhile was looking over the magical items and Lawfer was digging through the bags for anything they missed. Llewelyn stood watch off to the side on watch, as always.

Lenneth felt bad about not assisting them sooner, since it seemed as though they had finished the task by themselves.

"I have the way forward. It seems Lawfer's hunch about there being survivors of this attack was correct. They headed through this very cavern," she stated.

"After the slaughter they endured right here?" Jelanda looked up with eyes wide.

"Not surprising, actually," Belenus commented as his eyes scanned a letter with a broken wax seal. "These men were on very important mission."

"So, you discovered something?" Lenneth asked.

Belenus looked up from the letter. "Yes, as a matter of fact, Milady."

He held it out for her. Lenneth accepted it and began reading through it, herself.

"Seems these men were sent by Headmistress Lorenta Elricdottir, herself, of the Flenceburg Sorcerer Academy," Belenus reported. "Your guess was right. They were here to keep something sealed in these caves. Unfortunately, that letter does not say exactly what. Seems as though the recipients of this letter were already in the know."

"Lady Lorenta?" Nanami's head snapped up from her work. "THE Lady Lorenta?"

"The one and only," Belenus half-smiled.

"Is this Headmistress Lorenta someone really important?" Jelanda asked.

Nanami gaped at her while Belenus just sighed, giving her an almost pitying look. Jelanda responded by narrowing her eyes in indignant anger.

"Well, she surely can't be that great," she huffily crossed her arms.

Belenus wasted no time dispelling that delusion. "Her word is the deciding vote on where two-thirds of the research budget for all Flenceburg goes. The academy she runs produces the majority of all notable magi in that country, too. Her father was the previous headmaster, Elric Edison."

Jelanda flushed as she realized this was someone a mage like her should have known about long before Belenus's explanation. The looks Nanami and the noble gave her were very telling about that.

Arngrim shook his head in disbelief. "Yet another thing Lombart made damn sure to keep you in the dark about, and your father let him. I can see why he wouldn't have wanted you to ever know much about Flenceburg. If ya managed to get your father to let you go to that academy, you'd have become a threat to ol' Lombart and his plans."

"Who's Lombart?" Nanami's head tilted to the side curiously.

"Long story," Arngrim muttered.

"We'll…" Lawfer awkwardly stumbled over his words. "We'll tell you later."

"So, the mission these men were on was completely legitimate," Lenneth spoke up. She lowered the letter after glancing over its contents. "This was no dive for riches. We must catch up to the survivors and ensure their objective is reached before something terrible happens. Is there anything else to be learned by what they left behind?"

Belenus shook his head as he flipped through a few of the letters. "As far as these journals and letters go, it's mostly just taking stock of potential campsites, inventory, schedule keeping, among other things. Nothing about the exact nature of what's waiting for us deeper down. They wanted this to keep this quiet, I think."

Belenus then tapped the spell book under his arm. "This is our best bet, in all likelihood."

"Aside from that, we have their gear and magic items," Lawfer said.

Nanami held up a couple of jars of potions. "We can take some of these potions and Spell Crystals along, though, Lady Valkyrie. Some of these mixtures will help me clear the way for us."

Arngrim held up the mostly intact satchel with the spell books. "This has still some room. I'll give you a hand with that."

"Oh, thank you, Arngrim!" Nanami beamed.

"Yep," the big warrior dully replied.

Llewelyn turned to rejoin them, since they were about to press on. He'd gone maybe three strides when the fluttering of feathers above reached his ears, he went still and discreetly looked up into the shaft they had just come from. Arngrim, Lawfer, and Lenneth also heard and stopped what they were doing to look up. Belenus instinctively reached for his sword and the magi began conjuring magic.

"What? What is it?" Belenus scanned the ceiling and its many holes, trying to find what they had detected.

"Something with wings was just flappin' around up there," Arngrim drew Dáinsleif out enough to see the blade.

The enchanted sword glowed only moderately, denoting that there was no immediate danger around them. His team members also glanced at Dáinsleif before going back to examining the area above for an attack. Lenneth saw and sensed nothing particularly nearby from that direction.

"Hmm. It might have been the fluttering of a harpy's wings echoing down into the caves," the Valkyrie cautiously suggested. "Nanami, I will help you and Arngrim gather the materials. Belenus, give me that spell book. We cannot linger anymore."

"Yes. Thank you, Lady Valkyrie," Nanami answered.

Above them, hidden on a little ledge, Truly was hunkered down on the hard surface.

"Whew! I almost blew my cover! That's what I get for trying to get too close to Odin's Valkyrie and her Chosen Slain! Still…"

The little dove Familiar inched towards the edge and slowly looked over the side, down at the scene of the ambush Henry's men had fallen into. "This does not bode well for Henry and Lady Lorenta's magi brigade. Oh, dear."

"That's everything!" Nanami patted the satchel before swinging it over her shoulder.

Lenneth turned and led the group away. Their next trek took them straight out from where they'd landed near the wall and then through columns, stacks, and uneven ground. Eventually, it took them to the great crevice. They only needed to look around for a moment before they saw a long outcropping of rock, leading down into the pit. Before they ventured down, they paused at the edge of the huge crack, looking over the side. There was something different about this gap as opposed to anything else in the caves.

"This chasm formed sometime after the cave did. Look at the sharp, jagged edges," Lenneth crouched, running her finger along where the stone ground ended. "This is more typical of a non-volcanic cave. An underground tremor might have formed it."

"Yeah, and the rock path that runs down this side looks a little too neat to be natural," Arngrim pointed to the outcropping.

Lenneth looked, and now that she had, she knew he was right.

"Indeed," Lenneth admitted.

They approached and gathered around it. The ledge walkway's surface was perfectly smooth, but it did not look chiseled. It was almost as if it had been pulled out from the rock wall in much the same way a drawer pulls out from a dresser. Like it could be slid back into the wall at any time. It was also angled ideally for crossing it on foot. Even Lenneth had to admit, at least in her private thoughts, that she hadn't quite seen anything like it before.

"Those claw marks again," Lawfer pointed to the only imperfections on the path's surface.

Large four toed claw marks left by the dragon. At once, the Valkyrie and einherjar knew they were on the right track. So, no further questions were asked as Lenneth stepped down onto the path, and the rest followed. Belenus, then the mages, followed by Lawfer, and then Arngrim and Llewelyn on rear-guard.

As they went, they remembered what they were told of the Undead Dragon of its minions. After seeing the remains of the those poor wizards, they knew this wouldn't be easy.

---

"Something has entered my caves and keeps casting the darkness aside wherever it goes. How troublesome. The Sigil-Keeper and his band of fools have already fallen by my teeth and claws, and now more fools yet fly to me. Go. Give them a royal welcome."

---

"Ha!" Nanami slapped the paper talisman against the ground.

For a third time since they had entered, Nanami repeated the cleansing ritual. They'd already gone down quite a ways, necessitating it as the evil energies were growing stronger the deeper they went.

"Now I just hope nothing sentient has taken notice," Lenneth thought.

It'd be most unfortunate if the Undead Dragon had somehow sensed the evil being driven back, however temporarily.

"Dragons. They're difficult enough to defeat when you catch them off their guard. One that's ready for you, though…" Lenneth did not want to finish that thought.

As they went, the group kept close to the cliff wall, as whatever force that had torn a perfect road out of its side had not installed a handrail. Despite the road having no shortage of room to stand and walk, everyone opted not to take any unnecessary chances. The path was hardly straightforward, however. Dictated by the crooked, jagged shape of the wall it ran along, there were quite a few backs and forths on their way. In fact, they were coming up on a particularly big one. The wall and path curved to their right in front of them far enough that it blocked what was beyond entirely. They could only see it turned left again, around a corner.

Lenneth raised her right hand, signaling the einherjar to slow their pace as a precaution, and so they all did. By now, Arngrim as was becoming increasingly uneasy. Guarding the rear with Llewelyn gave him a good vantage since they were still the highest up, but he was still very uneasy. He frequently found himself looking at the other wall of the ravine across the way, or straight up along the clifftops, or back up the path from whence they came. They hadn't been attacked by anything in a while, not even in the cavern where they came on the aftermath of a battle. To him, the longer it took for the other shoe drop, the worse it'd be when it did.

He glanced towards the edge, and started to inch towards it. Llewelyn grabbed his arm to stop him, causing Arngrim's head to snap around almost in alarm. The young archer let go and backed off, holding up his hands with an intimidated look in his eyes.

Feeling a little guilty, Arngrim mouthed an awkward, "…Sorry."

The boy understood, but still looked uneasy about what Arngrim was going.

"Relax," the mercenary quietly told him.

Then he inched out again, just enough to look down without getting too close. He could see the ground below, however far it was still was. They could likely drop down there in just a few seconds by his reckoning.

"Why don't we just fly down?" Arngrim suddenly asked.

"I do not wish to be seen from the air by an enemy," Lenneth answered without looking back at him or stopping. "The more time they have to prepare, the more of a disadvantage we will find ourselves at. The numbers are on their side as is."

A few paces later, and they reached where the road first started to turn. Lenneth suddenly stopped and held up her hand again, halting her team. They went silent as they all flattened themselves against the cliff wall, weapons readied. Everyone noticed Dáinsleif shining like blue torchlight now.

Nanami looked around at the others and was about to speak when Lawfer, who was behind her tapped her shoulder. When she turned to him, he had a finger to his lips. She gulped and nodded.

A low, inhuman moan echoed from somewhere around the bend ahead. This was followed by a second moan that didn't quite sound like the first, but the group had no way to verify if there was more than one. Llewelyn quietly got to his knees and eased himself down to put his ear to the rock. Lenneth closed her eyes and reached out with her senses.

"I hear footsteps," Llewelyn said in a low voice. "Four up ahead… and… three behind."

Arngrim whirled around, looking back up at the slope, but he saw nothing. He and Llewelyn had kept a sharp eye out to make sure they weren't being followed. How could there be something further up without them noticing?

"What…?" he muttered.

"Lady Valkyrie, what do your senses detect?" Belenus asked.

Lenneth's eyebrows twitched, almost to the point of fluttering. "I… only sense one life force, and yet 'tis both before and behind us."

She opened her eyes, glancing both ways.

"Belenus, Nanami, to me," she ordered. "We will confront what approaches from the front. Arngrim, Lawfer, Llewleyn, Jelanda, handle what seeks to sneak up from behind."

"Yes, Lady Valkyrie," several answered at once.

Lenneth organized her group into a staggered formation to best use the limited space with herself in the lead, standing close to the edge. Belenus both behind her and to the side, closer to the wall, and in the rear was Nanami, standing center to cast spells between them.

Meanwhile, the second group employed a different formation.

"Hey, you two," Arngrim addressed the archer and princess. He pointed up to a small platform a few yards behind where he intended to block the path with Lawfer. It was about four feet up and was big enough for them both to stand and move on. "Up."

Llewelyn ran over and practically leapt up in one go and then turned to assist Jelanda. Meanwhile, Arngrim and Lawfer stood shoulder-to-shoulder, creating a wall their enemy would have to bypass. Lenneth glanced back at them, quickly evaluating their method, and decided not to argue. The footsteps were now close enough to be audible. Whatever was approaching from below was just around the corner now.

"Any moment now…" Lenneth lowered her stance, pointing her sword straight forward.

She glanced down over the side into the pit below, considering the notion. She shook her head, banishing the thought. No, she wanted a look at this new enemy, especially if they had managed to start following them without being noticed.

A figure stepped around the corner on somewhat wobbly feet. It'd been leaned into its forward march, causing it to speed up. Before the thing could run itself over the edge into the abyss below, it threw its body backwards, stopping itself. It was then followed by two more stiff, unsteady persons, and then a fourth. The first thing Lenneth noticed about them were their glowing green eyes. The fact they were shambling corpses brought back to life by abominable means brought no surprise. Brownish, dried skin clung to visible bones, and yet they were surprisingly light on their unsteady feet for being this kind of Undead. However, none of that was what made Lenneth uneasy.

No, it was the singular aura flowing through them all and was the source of the green glow, which stirred the Valkyrie's concerns.

The four figures ahead of them were already looking right at them. The one which seemed to be the leader stepped forward, as if studying them. It turned its head farther to the side than it ever would have in life without bending its body sideways.

With the second group, three of the reanimated dead appeared above them. They stopped and studied Arngrim's crew as well. The mercenary and the knight exchanged sideways looks.

"I don't like this. 'Tis not like the walking dead not to attack on sight," Lawfer murmured quietly.

"Yeah…" Arngrim's grip subconsciously tightened on Dáinsleif.

The scarred warrior slowly turned his head to make himself audible to Llewelyn and Jelanda.

"Look alive up there. This looks dangerous," he warned.

Then the leader studying Lenneth opened its mouth. The Valkyrie, Belenus, and Nanami braced themselves, expecting anything. Anything except for what happened next.

"Oh, one of the Aesir. 'Tis almost quaint to see a poultry Death Chooser come to visit," a deep, erudite voice emerged from the unholy thing's dried lips.

As it chuckled, its bones rattled. Then it reached up and straightened its crooked head. Then, somehow, the cognitive presence seemed to leave it and the thing hunched forward in a primal stance like its three followers.

"And these must be your loyal einherjar," now the voice came from the trio of walking dead facing Arngrim's group.

Lenneth, Belenus, and Nanami looked sharply over their shoulders. Now one of those animated corpses stood with a more dignified posture as it looked them over. Lawfer gasped in surprise, and looked between the shambling things blocking the path forward and those stalking them from behind.

"What? How did…?" Lawfer rasped.

"How am I here? Or am I… Over here?" the voice shifted midsentence from the stalking trio to the blockade quartet again, but not the same one.

Now the fourth undead, which had straggled behind the others stood like a man with an intelligent mind. As the presence which moved between the reanimated corpses chuckled again, the bones of this new inhabitant also rattled.

On their little platform, Jelanda shivered. "…Ghastly."

"Yeah, creepy, too," Llewelyn muttered.

Jelanda opened her mouth, but then shook her head, deciding to drop it.

The presence inhabiting the corpses spoke again, with the same calm, elegant voice, "I believe Lady Valkyrie can tell you what is transpiring here…. If you survive this entanglement. That is."

"Oh, there will be words, Puppet Master, but not for them," Lenneth vowed sternly. Then she tilted her head slightly in a sassy fashion. "Or perhaps I should say… There will be words, dragon."

"Heh, so what gave me away?" the voice of the dragon asked through the lips of the corpse.

"You could be nonother," Lenneth answered. "The locals have reported your presence and activities. 'Tis you which controls every move these creatures make as an extension of yourself. No self-will governs these empty husks. Impressive you can manipulate so many marionettes at once."

"Why, thank you," the dragon made the possessed corpse bow humbly. "A good artist always enjoys hearing how his work is appreciated."

Lenneth's eyes first narrowed with rage, then widened into a piercing glare as she shouted, "You call this violation art? You are not only a defiler of soul and flesh, but you also bring shame on your tribe! The dragon clan was once a proud, noble race! Yet now I find you down in these hideous depths acting as a common Necromancer! You bring shame to the Chieftains of your people! Your old High Chieftain Sothis would have been mortified at how you have become this… this debased… thing!"

The corpse's green eyes flashed angrily. "I bring shame? 'Twas the Aesir who hunted my race into near extinction seeking the treasure they themselves charged us with guarding and keeping out of evil's grasp! If anything, you bring shame to the good name of Valkyrie by serving Odin!"

"Humph!" Lenneth haughtily turned up her nose. "Such nonsense! Lord Odin would never go back on the principles which laid the foundation of his rule. Whatever misfortunate befell the dragon clan, I am sorry, but we played no part in it. Furthermore, you presume much questioning where the allegiance of the Valkyries should lie, sinner. I will hear none of it from you!"

Lenneth pointed her sword at him. "By the holy laws, you will be punished most severely, Undead Dragon! Are you prepared?"

The dragon roared in fury through the profaned corpse. It was a booming sound, far too deep and deafeningly loud to ever come from even healthy human vocal cords. Most of the einherjar clapped their hands over their ears, grimacing in pain from the sheer force of the sound. It was as though the mountains themselves were bellowing at Lenneth and her einherjar.

"Punished? Punished!" the dragon screamed. "I will show you who deserves judgment, puppet of Odin! I will bring down a thousand years of Draconus justice on the heads of any Aesir I encounter! Thieves! Murderers! Oath breakers! Unrepentant defilers of the natural order! You took everything from us! And now… and now…"

The dragon's voice quieted to a calm, controlled voice, behind which all the venom it felt for the Valkyrie churned.

"I will start with you, Lenneth," it said.

The profaned corpse seemed to smile at her, and then in unison, all the walking dead, dropped to all-fours. No one had to be told the battle had just begun. The controlled corpses sprinted forward like dogs on their hands and feet. One of the trio which charged Arngrim's group hopped up and ran on the wall, but it wasn't clinging. It was more like its pull of gravity had changed.

Arngrim stood on the left, closer to the edge, while Lawfer was to his right. As the beasts approached, the scarred mercenary suddenly grinned as an idea came to him. He looked at Lawfer in the corner of his eye.

"Number 9," Arngrim instructed.

Although Lawfer kept his eye on the beasts that'd be on them in a few seconds, he could not stop a smile, too. He knew exactly what Arngrim was referring to. He took a step back, giving the scarred mercenary room to make the maneuver. As soon as the charging pair of creatures neared, they sprang like wildcats.

Arngrim responded by launching forward as well with Dáinsleif pulled far back to the side. He swung in a straight arc, which the Undead limby leapt over. They'd pounced almost straight up and were about to come down on the large warrior's back. Then Lawfer raced forward, stepping up onto the hunkered Arngrim's back, screaming as he threw all his weight into his upward stroke, which came from the right. His swing caught the unliving corpse closer to the cliff wall in the side, knocking it into its partner. The Undead pair had no time to realize just what their opponents had done until they'd bounced off the edge of the cliff pathway and were sent careening down into the depths below.

"Ha ha!" Arngrim cheered triumphantly, pumping a fist in the way.

"SACRED JAVELIN!"

The third possessed corpse sailed overhead with a phantasmal spear skewered through it, also flying out into the darkness. The two men needn't look to know what happened, but they turned anyway to see Jelanda celebrating with a haughty laugh up on the ledge she and Llewelyn occupied.

"Ho ho ho! That'll teach that brute to get too close!" the princess laughed into the back of her hand.

Llewelyn stared at the rip in his sleeve in alarm, before giving her an annoyed look.

"Maybe don't do that until I'm out of the way next time! You almost got me, too!" he grumbled.

"Oh, uh," Jelanda blushed sheepishly and turned away. "Sorry, I suppose I just got swept up in the excitement."

When Llewelyn glanced up from his sleeve to give her an annoyed look, he saw another pair of green eyes loom in directly over Jelanda as the undead thing clung to the wall behind her.

Acting on instinct, a "Shit!" escaped his lips as he pushed her off the ledge just as it pounced. It hit him with enough force to send him falling off the little platform, too.

---

When the quartet of possessed corpses charged Lenneth's group, two of them leapt to the walls and ran along them, high overhead. The battle goddess growled in frustration at having to divide her attention to anticipate an attack from two fronts. Behind her, she could also feel the magics building up in Nanami, but she had no time to issue an order concerning what spell she the girl to cast. The beasts closed the distance in just a few strides.

As soon as the first possessed dead running on all four of its limbs stretched out one of its bony hands to grab her leg, Lenneth flew off the ridge path and looped around behind it with her sword stroke ready. Her blade flew an in arc, decapitating the unholy thing. From above, she felt one of the things on the wall descending on her and she dodged to the side. The leaping corpse landed right on the edge of the ledge path, and was immediately incased in crystal by one of Lenneth's icy blasts. The frozen Undead, with so much of its weight hanging over the side, tipped over and joined its brethren in falling to the depths below.

Lenneth smiled smugly, content in having felled two beasts so quickly. However, as the headless cadaver still stood, and then turned to face her, her smirk faded. The head, lying on the ground at its own feet, smiled at her.

"Unfortunately, Valkyrie, my hold over those I have brought down to be converted into my legions remains strong even if their physical form is damaged," the head said.

"Very well, then," Lenneth replied.

She zipped forward, aiming for its legs, but the headless husk backflipped into the air, and she stepped directly under where it would come down before she could stop her momentum. The dragon's vessel flipped into position to wrap its limbs around Lenneth as it began to drop. Right as its fingertips reached her shoulders, the Valkyrie suddenly vanished, and the headless corpse landed on all-fours. Then it suddenly found itself without legs. It fell stomach down on path at Lenneth's feet and just as quickly its arms were gone.

"Clever girl," the master spoke through the head of the headless, and now limbless, body.

Lenneth jumped over to the head and kicked it off the stone path. Then she turned to see how her einherjar were faring. Belenus struggled against an opponent which still lived despite being impaled through the chest by the noble's sword. It clawed and bit at him, but Belenus had his foot pressed against its stomach and pushed it away hard enough to both dislodge his blade and knock his foe onto its back. Just as it was sitting up, Lenneth's blade erupted through the right side of its chest, unleashing a surge of holy power that burned it to a crisp. Belenus looked up from the pile of ash that had been his opponent to Lenneth, nodding in quiet thanks.

Behind them, the fourth reanimated corpse clung to the wall directly over Nanami, who stood readied with one hand stiffly open in front of her chin with the knuckles of the other hand pressed against its palm. When it leapt down to tackle her, she chanted, "Sacred Barrier!"

The beast was blasted away by a green bubble of cleansing energy and sent flying into the dark of the pit as well. The young shrine maiden breathed out her fear through a sigh.

"Oh, thank Lord Njord. That was frightening," she muttered.

Then she looked to Lenneth and Belenus, as they began to share a smile of victory.

"Looks like we…" Belenus was cut off when Jelanda cried out.

All three turned and saw her fall from the little ledge, followed by Llewelyn as he was tackled by one of the controlled husks. The princess landed near the edge, and began to slide off into the pit, herself. Jelanda again screamed as she realized what was about to happen.

"No!" Arngrim shouted as he, Lawfer, and Belenus all broke into full sprints to catch her, but knew they wouldn't make it.

Whoosh! Lenneth was suddenly by Jelanda's side, grabbing the girl around the waist and yanking her back onto solid ground. The girl buried her face in Lenneth's shoulder, breathing heavily from shock. Lenneth let out a big breath, relieved.

"If she had fallen where we hadn't purified the air, her very soul might have gone dark and beyond my ability to save," the Valkyrie thought.

Behind the goddess and princess, Llewelyn kicked the possessed Undead off of him, knocking it onto its side. Both he and it sat up at the same time, hurrying to get the upper hand. From all sides, the boy's companions rushed in to assist him. It was Belenus who reached him first. From behind the creature, Belenus cut off its head and then brought his next stroke down, cutting off one arm, and then the other. However, the thing still stood and attacked Llewelyn much to everyone's surprise. It raised a foot to stomp on him.

Llewelyn cursed and raised his forearms over his face, blocking its stomp. As the beast jerked its leg back for a second attempt, Arngrim grabbed its ankle and hurled it over the edge to join the others. As it fell, Lenneth, Jelanda, and Llewelyn had all climbed back to their feet and entire group watched it shrink into the darkness, standing in a straight line along the edge of the walkway.

Arngrim looked around tensely. "Shit. Where'd that thing come from? We took out all three of ours'."

At those words, realization hit Lenneth and Belenus.

"And we vanquished our four," Lenneth muttered.

"An eighth puppet corpse?" Belenus rasped anxiously.

They all turned to the wall, and looked up. Above them was an army of the things clinging to the cliff above them like insects. A hundred strong, at least, each possessing the same green eyes, denoting them as property of the Undead Dragon. Many of them were but skeletons, and others looked almost freshly dead. The most intact and sturdy-looking among them bore weapons, even makeshift ones like scythes, hammers for housework, and other items.

The severed head of the latest fallen enemy began laughing with the voice of the dragon. The group looked down it with a mix of scorn and dread, which only made its laughter ring out all the louder.

"Something troubles thee, Lady Valkyrie?" the dragon asked. "Perhaps you should have paid more attention to what was above you, instead of just what was in front of you? And you claim to roam the skies?"

Lenneth regarded the presence controlling the head coldly.

"Do you still lay claim to the skies, dragon?" was her cool response. "Or have your wings withered too much?"

That got a growl from the head.

"I will see yours' clipped," the dragon threatened through its dry lips.

Above them, the cadavers it controlled screamed and began crawling down the cliff face towards the group. Lenneth and her einherjar all stepped back, towards the edge. She turned looked down over the side.

"Call it, Valkyrie," Arngrim prompted.

Lenneth looked back up at the force descending on them. "We will battle these profaned vessels, but not here where they will overrun us. Nanami, prepare another purification prayer. All of you, to me."

Then she stepped off the edge, taking her einherjar with her. As the shrine maiden prayed up another spell to neutralize the toxins below, they fell away from the cliff into the depths of the cave far, far below. The dragon watched through the eyes of its puppets, still scowling through their faces.

"Soon, Lady Valkyrie. I will make even one Aesir get what's coming to her through my defilements of your mind, body, and soul," it vowed. "Soon."

Stealthily, Truly followed after Lenneth and her einherjar down to the bottom of the great fissure.