Chapter 42: Something in the Water

Bast looked at one of the stone spires, seeing that an doorway was present for each... but instead of a door, there was a curtain of sun-bleached cloth.

"Stay here boy."

She pushed past the curtain, and stepped up to enter a room with a stone bench that had cushions on its as a couch or seat of sorts, as well as a table made of similar stone.

Every spire has its first room lifted from the ground level of the streets, over a foot at least, with a step before it making the height more easily climbed.

However none of it was cut, the stone grew from the ground as if the entire building and the furniture within had been carved out of the ground!

"Did a bunch of mages build this town using earth magic?"

She looked around before heading up the stairs to the next floor, finding one of the openings she'd seen from afar.

It was a window, but this one faced another building's window... and a plank of bleached wood lay next to the window, leaned against the wall.

'They used this to visit? But why? Why not just go to ground level?'

She looked down... and a weird optical illusion seemed to be present, a shadow cast over the ground with nothing to cast it, until she realized what it was.

The entire street level... all the rock of the first foot or so off the ground was a different shade. It was slightly darker than the rest.

'Why would it be so starkly different? No matter the color of the stone, it's like there's a line of where it changes to be the lighter shade of the buildings...'

Bast kept heading up floor after floor, finding hammocks made from a strange plant she was unfamiliar with woven together, like many large leafs.

As she finally reached the top floor, the ceiling was a cone straight upwards, making an interesting curve to the room with how the ceiling was so much lower towards the walls.

'...no blood. No smell. Even if the Skolpis liquifies it's prey, some sign of struggle should still exist! Did the Skolpis only come after the people left?'

After searching every spire similarly, she came upon a opening in the ground leading downwards.

As she took a few steps she froze in shock.

"This-!"

It was humid!

There was a definite shift of moisture in the air as soon as she went into the shade of this tunnel!

"Well's town... is this the well? It seems more like a cavern to me!"

She gestured to Junior that he should stay, and started downwards, holding a globe of light aloft to see by.

The tunnel went down before looping back around to continue, but at the bend it opened up as a hole in the cliff of the rock the town was built on!

Bast stood staring out the opening and into the mist released by the rapids below, filling up the entire opening and filling the tunnels with moisture.

"..."

She turned and continued downwards, noting the beads of moisture along the walls and ceiling dripping downwards, the way she was heading.

'Well I get why a Skolpis moved in now. Luckily they're more the loner type of monster from what I remember... if they were a hive-type I'd be worried.'

Bast still kept her caution up.

Another Skolpis wouldn't be here... but why would it have stayed above ground instead of down here?

It was like it had come here only to find another predator already here, and was staying distant while still attracted to this suitable environment.

'If there is another monster down here, ideally it's an earth-darkness. Even earth-water isn't too bad, water-dark is a pain in the ass for me.'

Fire had an elemental superiority over earth after all.

Bast turned a corner... and the tunnel opened up into a gaping darkness before her.

'...yeah I'm not stupid enough to just walk in there.'

Light magic coalesced into a sphere which she tossed into there, before it flared into a bright light source lighting up the cavern.

The entire thing was flooded with water, dark and black, impossible to see into.

'...ooooookay. That's the "well" then? All the moisture of the mist from the rapids gathers here where the sun can't burn it away.'

That's actually kinda a cool trick of nature to create such a cold and damp source of water in a place that is only missing the sand to be seen as another part of the desert, made of stone cliffs and crevices.

Light magic lit up Bast's eyes as she looked into the water.

She sucked in a cold breath as... the entire water lit up like a FUCKING SUN!

She took a slow, careful step back. Then another.

And another.

She didn't know WHAT was in the water to create such a strong lifeforce, but if it hadn't noticed her yet, she would rather NOT make it notice her!

And then a small noise echoed behind her.

"Plat. Plat."

She turned... and shining in the bare white light was something black and glistening with moisture.

The white light lent a shade to everything, leeching color until everything was black and white, and Bast stared at the small, thin lines of black gunk almost coming from the water.

And then they bent... and clenched as more came out to grip the rock.

Fingers.

Lifting as an arm rose out of the waters, until the head came out.

Bast stares in absolute panic and terror at this... thing.

Skin rotted away and black from moisture filling it with gunk from the rot, with bits of bone visible below.

It's eyes were blank milky white.

It was an undead. A drowned corpse left for weeks it looked like...

And then it took a heavy, sickening step.

'...I'd take a magic monster now.'

Bast turned... and RAN!

More thumps echoed from behind as she heard the water splash and ripple.

Fuck. This. Shit.

She reached the surface and ran to Junior, leaping onto his back from over a meter away thanks to fire fusion, and he turned around as he smelt the death on his owner and knew to GO.

They left the gate to continue down the bridges to the desert...

And came to a stop as Bast's eyes widened.

"No no no no no no no..."

As a rotting hand came up and grabbed onto the edge of the cliff the town was built on.

Around the bridges off the section of the ravines... corpses began pulling themselves up.

And then more came from all around the cliffs, and rising from the town's well.

How many were there? How could so many die here? An entire town of undead, and all their visitors.

Bast snarled as she shoved her fear down.

She was an awakened! She shouldn't have to fear the undead when she had light and fire magic!