Link stepped cautiously into the darkened tomb, shield positioned and sword drawn; and as seemed to be a rule to all rooms he entered, the path leading back to the cemetery slammed closed cutting out any light whatsoever. He stayed perfectly still, but the foul stench of decay filled his nostrils, urging him to find a way out. The tomb was cold, and felt sodden underneath his feet as if he were sinking into mud. So reluctantly he moved forward a bit, and blindly returned his shield to his back, then carefully adjusted his sheath's strap so that it sat at his hip before he returned his sword to it.

Link reached into his pack and produced a satchel of ember seeds and tossed one in front of him. It flared up and the sight that its flickering light provided was gruesome. Bones were scattered across the floor; they were covered in moss and grime. But on top of them were the pale and mangled corpses of the recently deceased and to Link's horror many hollow, lifeless eyes stared at him widely, purple bags under them. He gulped and took a step backwards with a level of fear he had never before experienced. Tossing another ember seed, the edges of the room lit dimly to reveal open earth and the scrambled remains of skeletons. Almost in a trance, Link threw yet another seed and before he had time to understand what he'd seen, something snuffed it out.

Reflexively he ripped his sword from its sheath as another seed was snuffed…and another…
Where is it…? I saw it, where'd it go? He shuddered as a moaning noise awoke not far from him, and he heard the snap of brittle bones as if something had put pressure on them. Very carefully, without making a noise, he cast out his last ember seed…

---

"Father Dampe, What's going on here?"
"Lieutenant, I wish I could say…" grunted the old man as he tugged on the door to a derelict tomb. He pulled a key out of a lock that held the door shut so firmly and gave a rattling sigh. "It would seem that someone has been tampering with the graves…" his withered hands rattled the keys on their large ring until he'd found another he wished to try and shoved it into place. "Just last night I found three tombstones banged up and shattered, and it's been happening all week." The lieutenant, who must've been forty years the younger than Father Dampe, helped the old man in his struggle to pry the tomb's door open. "Father, may I ask why this tomb is so important to get into?" the church elder stood stock-still and faced his inquisitor grimly "Someone is stuck inside…"

---

Link backed towards the wall, an inhuman looking corpse was pursuing him and let out a bone-chilling shriek that sent a shiver down the length of his spine. He tried desperately to keep moving, but his legs refused to keep walking, and his arms wouldn't budge to swing his sword or retrieve his shield. The creature was so thin that its skin was more like leather stretched tightly around a skeleton, and so weak that it limped and stumbled and moved barely faster than a snail, yet Link was trapped and consumed by a terrible, cold dread. Perhaps it was the eyeless sockets that seemed to pierce him, or the empty mouth that hung so slack, they made the thing seem like a madman's marionette.

It's just a puppet… Link thought, barely convincing himself. It isn't really alive, you cut the cords that make it move, and it's lifeless… So find the cords… There was little time if any to "Find the cords," the thing was only a yard away and Link still couldn't move. The creature emitted a loud moan and sprung forward with a burst of energy. It's cold limbs wrapped around Link's form and he let out a yell of pain as something slid into his neck. His body was becoming cold, his senses weren't responding as quickly, and he could hear the creature making a disgusting noise as if it were drinking large gulps of something over and over again. He staggered forward as the thing released him, his mind blurry. Another shriek emerged from behind him and he had enough thought to turn and swing his blade into the creature, which merely recoiled and continued its pursuit. Again and again he swung his blade, wincing at the sounds it made upon contact, but the thing was unfazed. With one last attempt, he took the hilt of his sword in both hands, backed up a little ways, lunged forward and shoved the blade strait through the creature. It gave a deep groan and slumped to the ground as Link retrieved his sword, and the doors to the tomb reopened allowing the dusty sunlight to purge the filthy room.

"Who's in there?" beckoned the grating voice of an old man "Show yourself!"
"I'm not hiding," Link grunted as he forced himself back through the muck and towards the entrance. His whole body ached from the attack of that creature, and he had no intention of going after the person who he'd tracked down here.
"My word," gasped the man upon seeing him. Link looked up, wincing slightly, to see a hunched over, rather short old man with wrinkled and spotted skin and a balding head. He wore a set of black robes and Link could see a silver cross hanging at his side. "What happened to you?" the man asked as he hobbled into the tomb. His weak blue eyes surveyed Link, mostly a large gash in the back of his neck. "I had a nasty run in with someone…Father, we need to get out of here…"