Exploring the Catacombs: Descent to the Underworld

Preposterous was a word he'd like to describe of this job's purpose, perhaps its best not to question, after all its only a tombstone of those long dead, their names forgotten and erased by the sands of time as history becomes the very soil that buried them alive. The Oldest Dark Guild of Earthland had constantly forgotten to map out the area of the catacombs itself and the only existing map of the actual place has been set ablaze by one of the guild's old fools. The sins of one burdens all and Dubhlainn had to be one of those burdened. He's only been in the guild for a few months but if this is necessary to the cause then he has no choice but to comply and do as he was told.

It was said that over half those sent down in the Catacombs never came back, some fell victim to the undead and others were eviscerated by the traps that guards the ancient tombs down below. In death, there's no evil nor there's no good, the justice of the graveyard, all are equal even the Divine who rose and earned lordship over the laws that held together the earth will eventually rust and fade as every cell in their body turns into nothing but soft sands that drift through the winds of time itself.

The tainted marks of the guild represent the actual areas that they all have gone so far, its uncertain how long the very distance between points go and perhaps it is up to the knight himself to find the answer, this was for the guild and for Lord Harrigan himself.

He had equipped himself in some attire that allowed him to carry with him 3 two handed weapons at his back, two shortswords borrowed from the guards, he carried an Axe, a Shovel and A SledgeHammer which proved to be suitable tools for this quest for who knows what awaits him several floors below. A few steps down, he reached the entrance to the caverns which was guarded by three of the guild’s security members as they slowly unlocked it for Dubhlainn to descend down below. Its doors opened slowly as metal screeches and by the time they stopped, a clicking sound was made. The guards told him that the entrance to the catacombs will remain open for six hours and if Dubhlainn hasn’t resurfaced by then, they shall close the doors and lock it, counting him as a casuality.

Having acknowledged, Dubhlainn proceeded downwards anyways. The sound of his footsteps was produced of leather and black, clashing to the cement floor. The First few levels of the catacombs were lighted with torches that emanate the only source of light one can get. Dubhlainn took liberty to grab one of these torches and precede further downstairs. So far the entire guild managed to cover ten floors in total yet many more remained. It was believed that Savage Skull was built over a huge ancient burial ground to which the dead were used as a catalysts for summoning the deity, the Lichborne himself that ruled part of the land a hundred years ago.

Steps bring him closer and deeper into uncharted areas of the catacombs and not once did he question the reason why he isn’t getting paid for it, he just knows that this was all for Lord Harrigan. He wouldn’t be surprised if he encountered the Lichborne itself down here but prays that he doesn’t and if he does, he’s not going to survive when it awakens from its deep slumber. That would have been the most pathetic death he’d ever have and dare b Gods he’d be cursed after coming this far. Hallways grew darker as he descended further down to the 9th level of the catacombs, scratch marks and bloodstains were painted on the walls as they tell tale that a battle took place. Bodies of rotting corpses are littered down the halls, some carrying the mark of the guild but death is no stranger to Dubhlainn.

It never left him as it follows him like his own shadow.

Even before he joined savage skull, the sight of corpses was just something he’d see every day, veterancy has its perks and its curses and not a single moment in his life was it missing death and spilled blood. At last he exits the final floor; the very last floor that Savage Skull made familiar with, ahead of him is yet another set of stairs that descends deeper into the catacombs. The stench of death fills the air and by the looks of it, no torchlights were lit making it completely dark and uncharted.

His journey begins here… into the deep areas of the Catacombs.

The member 'Dubhlainn' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

The first few steps into this level isn’t so easy as the very area was filled with pitch black darkness, only the torchlight Dubhlainn has breaks its atmosphere. An Eerie feeling of dread lurks here and the scent of blood seems to linger. In order to gain territory over this strange darkness, Dubhlainn lit a few of the lamps and torchlights, at the very least he can see a portion of the area he’s in gaining territory and vision on selected areas with light. Unfortunately for Dubhlainn he made a step he regrets taking, the moment his foot caused a panel to sink down was the moment he had to jump back only for his quadriceps to be scratched by the pikes that emerged from the panel itself. There was no injury but a scratch as a small stream of blood flowed out. He decided to stop to draw some bandages to stop the bleeding. The sound of pikes emerging from the floor broke the silence as moaning and groaning can be heard. He stood up to draw his axe only to gaze into the darkness as a figure entered the light, it was a rotting corpse with a guard uniform of Savage Skull and another emerged from his side, a zombie with no clothes as they both rush to him at once.

With a heavy swing from his axe, he incapacitated the first zombie, splitting its head into two as he swung is axe horizontally at the naked zombie as the blade of the axe sliced its head apart, hitting the wall in the process. Only half of its head was above the blade and upon release, the popped skull fell to the floor.

The member 'Dubhlainn' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

He pulled the axe, freeing it from the wall where it struck and proceeded onwards lighting all the torches and lamps he could find in order to gain territory.

Dubhlainn thought to himself: “This burial ground must be well defended, the architects who built this place must be a genius.”

The Darkness of the place did no serve Dubhlainn, however the entire floor of the place was about to be fully mapped out and once again his foot sank into the floor only to summon a boulder rolling after him. He was in a narrow hallway and the only place he’d go was back for the rolling boulder was meant to crush him. On the way to avoid the stone, he stepped on a few traps, first another set of pikes that emerged from the floor but they didn’t emerge fast enough that Dubhlainn already got through to them as they were crushed by the rolling stone behind him. A zombie was running towards Dubhlainn, two of them as a matter of fact as he ran passed them , punching them backwards only for them to be crushed by the stone and until finally he reached a dead end. Infront of him was a deep pit that could lead further down into the catacombs and behind him was the inevitable stone making its way to Dubhlainn.

There was no choice as he threw a punch to the wall only to create a massive hole in its wake. Dubhlainn dodged the stone in the nick of time too. The place where he ended up was around near the entrance to the 10th level to the 11th. He was back to square one once again.

The member 'Dubhlainn' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

The Boulder then sealed the deep hole leading done to the deeper levels of the catacombs, perhaps it was best to keep it that way, after all it breaks the safety hazard of those who wish to bury the dead. Unfortunately it lead to more consequences, the impact of the stone that blocked the pit managed to summon another zombie and a spirit as it materialized into reality from the darkness where it came. Torchlights slowly began to flicker and fade in its presence. Dubhlainn holds a torch on one hand and the axe at another, he then threw the torch at the zombie as it was set ablaze, the Banshee then started her attack as it swung its arms left to right. With the right timing, Dubhlainn chopped one of its arms of with one swing of the axe. It was indeed a Banshee but it was a kind of Banshee that never left flesh and must have succumbed to a dark influence, probably made and turned into the slave of the Lichborne.

The Banshee maneuvered around the floor making it hard for Dubhlainn to get it at striking distance. When the Banshee’s movements became predictable, he swung his axe at the time the Banshee made its charge, separating its head from the body as it fell down, reduced to sand.

“Troublesome spirits… what has corrupted you?” Dubhlainn commented as he moved on. Having lost his torch, he decided to pick a new one out of the ones that were already lit and brought brightness to the area once again, retaking the 11th floor again.

The member 'Dubhlainn' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Having dominated the eleventh floors he had to make sure that every trap in the area was completely disarmed, who knows how many still remained down here? Dubhlainn once again checked the entire area only to encounter another corpse and another swing of the axe it was dealt with. As he expected, he stepped right into a panel that released the poison darts, shooting out from the walls and the only shield he had was nothing but the corpse of his slain foe as bits of its skin melted before the poison. It wasn’t much of a big deal not to Dubhlainn at the very least, he’s been a tomb raider before and the traps he encounters here is nothing compared to the hell he went through years back.

Hell is just a place that he must find the means to survive and the catacombs were no different. After scanning the entire floor and lighting up areas that need to be lit, his chore went off without a hitch and only earned him a scrape on the quadriceps. Now he proceeds downward to the 12th floor only to be greeted by a zombie halfway as its skull was met with the heavy and sharp steel of his axe once again. After that he looked over to his axe only to see it covered in blood and gore, he admired how the Axe looked like now for it almost appeared to be some kind of murder weapon that’s been constantly used for eliminating zombies and living spirits.

The member 'Dubhlainn' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

His steps brought him down to the twelfth floor where only the entrance between the 11th and 12th floor was. He came to observe what appears to be a corpse of a dead mage from his guild and on his hand was a note that’s stained with a bit of blood and it reads.


The sentence of the note was cut off; it seems that he bled out before he gave some of the details of the event that happened here. There were claw marks on the walls and three bodies at what appeared to be fallen soldiers. What happened next was something that didn’t surprised Dubhlainn, the three corpses by the entrance came to life as the started moaning and growling and quickly rushed over to Dubhlainn. Exhaling deeply Dubhlainn couldn’t help but feel pity for the fallen, who knows how long its been since they have been here? This time with the swing of his axe he took out three heads at the same time, severing them from the body as they rolled to the floor. Dubhlainn stopped to examine the dead bodies, their organs were raptured and their bones were crushed and it doesn’t look like a zombie did this and the least he’d assume that it was a banshee or something else. Following the same procedure, he lit a few areas by the entrance, gaining territory as he proceeds onward. The stench of death and decay is in the air and it seems that some kind of creature took residence in this ancient burial ground.

The member 'Dubhlainn' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

It appears that the 12th floor doesn’t seem to be another area where the dead should lie; it was more like a grand hall that is used to perform ceremonies, judging by the old organ it was a place to hold a Requiem mass with a structure much similar to that of a cultist church. He approached the Altar only to find what appears to be a piece of paper, written on it was some kind of rune, as he was about to touch the piece of paper, a figure fell from above and it was way bigger than that of a zombie. Dubhlainn managed to dodge in time however right now he faces a worthy foe in the caverns, perhaps the only enemy that seems to be worth fighting against.


Its skin was as dark as the caverns, its eyes were riddled with nothing more than anger and hatred, it had a mouth with bare fangs that dripped a mix of both saliva and blood, its arms had flaps that stretched like rubber making is more like wings than regular arms, its claws were as razor sharp and screeched like any monster would. Although Dubhlainn may not recognize much of its species, he’d assume that this was some kind of humanoid bat.

It was said that Sinali had conducted multiple experiments with her victims and it was also rumored that a few of her specimens broke from their constraints and seek refuge here in the catacombs. Some thought the beasts would die out without Sinali’s control over them but somehow it just survived.

Its screeches upon the sight of Dubhlainn as the battle between knight and beast commences.

The creature commences its attack by flying upwards and begins rotating around the hall until finally it was time for it to strike Dubhlainn down with its bare claws. Dubhlainn dropped his axe as he drew his twin swords and parried them against the beast. However this only ended up making the bat grab his weapons instead and carried him up into the air giving Dubhlainn no choice but to let go. The Bat then used the twin swords and sent it hurling back at Dubhlainn as it flew up again in circles. Dubhlainn caught the twin blades with ease and after having encountered such, his weapons won’t work against this creature so instead he decided to use heavier weapons such as the Axe and the Sledge.

The Bat came in for another attack only for Dubhlainn raise his arms upward and unleashes a heavy attack on the bat.  Part of the bat suffered a deep cut while its leg bone was crushed. It screeched again, and landed on the ground infront of Dubhlainn attacking with its furious swipes and Dubhlainn had no choice but the parry. He jumped backwards and dropped the sledge hammer and wielded his bloodstained axe like it was some broadsword. This time Dubhlainn was aiming for more speed in order to catch the huge Bat and force it down on the ground but with such small luck, it kept moving till finally the creature dived down and dashed right at Dubhlainn.

As a resort Dubhlainn jumped up high in the air to dodge it only to turn 180 degrees as the bath was passing by beneath him and slam the axe only to miss because of the Bat’s flight speed.

---

Dubhlainn couldn’t believe his eyes, unlike any other creature, the Bat was mocking him as its glide around the air almost as if his weapon attacks didn’t do anything. It was time for the bat to engage once again as it landed on the ground to which the impact created a shockwave to which Dubhlainn had no choice but to parry the force with his own weapons, both the axe and the SledgeHammer. The Batman made its attack with furious swipes, it smiled as he simulated a series of attacks that were so quick Dubhlainn had to parry, damaging weapons in the process.

Dubhlainn seemed to be slowing down, perhaps it was because he never had a serious fight against a creature before, how long was his last fight? This gave him the opportunity to exercise his physical abilities and prayed that his still retained his stamina. Dubhlainn exhaled and jump a feet of the ground and swung weapons both sideways as his attack completely smacked the creature in the face, forcing its head to face the side it was smashed to.

This however angered the Bat as another swipe disarmed Dubhlainn. Its eyes were furious and it was angry for having been landed such a hit. The Bat dashed forward but knowing that the distance between Dubhlainn and the bat was short, Dubhlainn was caught in its grip as he was smashed to a wall. The Bat then dashed once more and attempted to make a heavy kick using the force of his dash.

Having thought the Bat gained edge…. Its foot was caught by Dubhlainn who was using only one hand.

---

“How long has it really been…” Dubhlainn thought to himself as aggression and rage flowed into his veins, his eyes glowed red for a moment as he crushes the bat’s foot just by squeezing it. Knowing this the bat dragged its foot away carrying Dubhlainn up high into the air and when they were high enough, the Bat would slam Dubhlainn a few feet up in the air down to the ground. As it was about to unleash another one of its fury strikes, Dubhlainn drew the twin swords once again blocking its attack and in an attempt to get the creature off him, he used his feet and pushed the creature away as the Batman flew once again. Unfortunately the Batman called in reinforcements as three zombies started to appear. Dubhlainn sat upright, smirking for the first time.  

“Well then if that’s the case.. Have at thee!” He jumped up for him to stand up straight as he started dashing towards the first zombie he sees and strikes it down and beheads the second one that came from behind him with a 180 degree strike. The Batman then flew only to dash at Dubhlainn which was an attempt to behead him while he was fighting the zombies. Dubhlainn was occupied and he only have but a few seconds to react and thus he ended up grabbing one of the zombies and bashing it right at the bat, sending both the zombie and the Bat straight into the hard wall.

---

Something in Dubhlainn was starting to spark and hints of his rage began to surface but he has no time to hesitate and must strike down the beast at once before it makes its counter attack. His rage is starting to spark but he must remain calm and composed. He threw his twin daggers and finally drew the shovel, twirling it around and wielding it with only one hand as it smacked the beast with the hard iron metal spade. The beast however managed to swing its claw to throw off the projectiles and parried Dubhlainn’s attack with the shovel. It’s screeched once again this time it was to call two banshees to its side, the battle then is starting to get a bit more serious than Dubhlainn had anticipated.

Dubhlainn backed away as Banshees were coming in an attempt to halt his movements. He then quickly ran to re-quip the deflected Twin Swords and threw them up in the air like boomerangs and grabbed both his Sledge hammer and Fire Axe back as he threw the Shovel at one of the banshees at least to maim one of them for a while. The Bat dashed once again but this time Dubhlainn was prepared for its attack. His eyes twinkled in crimson as he slammed both heavy weapons to the ground stopping the Batman and nearly crushing its skull or nearly splitting it open. The Batman seemed to be maimed and the Twinswords that he threw earlier managed to impale one of the banshees but this doesn’t mean he killed the Batman’s two newly summoned allies.

However Dubhlainn was careless as a Banshee appeared from behind and thus Dubhlainn was caught in its grip as it held Dubhlainn tightly.

---

“I see that I’ve been relying too much on my weapons.” He exhaled as he continued to receive damage from the Banshee’s strangle hold as the Batman regained consciousness and made off with yet another dash right at Dubhlainn. With the Banshee restraining Dubhlainn, all the Dubhlainn had to do is ben over causing the Banshee to receive the full hit. As the Batman passed with one of the Banshees in its fangs, Dubhlainn crushed the other Banshee’s head as it charge towards him, a single punch completely knock it over.

The Batman man flew up in order to make another furious aerial dash only for Dubhlainn to grab one of the long wooden benches, carrying it like it didn’t weight much and slammed it right at the bat’s face, causing Batman to lose its airbourne status. The Batman was hit so hard the wooden bench exploded in the process as Dubhlainn made his dash and punched it right in the nose, crushing it and causing the creature to bleed heavily. From a stoned expression into that of a man who is engaged into a battle, his eyes says it all and he would go by all means to eliminate and crush the Batman with his barehands this time. In order to disable it from flying again, as soon as he landed his right hook, he grabbed one of the bat’s wings and punched its elbow, completely breaking its arm to prevent it from flying. The Batman once again screeched as two zombies and two Banshees were once again summoned to its side.

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The Batman made its attempt to escape as it heads towards the entrance that leads to the next level. As the Banshees held him more tightly, Dubhlainn struggled more, forcing both Banshees down to the ground. By the time he was forced to the ground, Banshees then extended Dubhlainn in an attempt to rip him to shreds but this didn’t turn out so well for them. Dubhlainn pulled both of the undead entities and slammed them at each other with the very strength of his limbs. Having both been stunned he immediately, Dubhlainn crushes the skull of the first banshee as the same result was delivered to the next. Batman was limping away and Dubhlainn was slowly walking behind it and having lost all advantages, its flight capability and its ability to defend itself, Batman was now at the mercy of the now furious knight.

His footsteps were like the clock ticking summoning the Batman’s old memory before he was human.

The scene that was happening now is exactly what had happened to the Batman.

Unable to escape, it turned back to face its demise and the moment it laid its eyes on Dubhlainn was the moment it knew it was going to die. Dubhlainn now at the peak has threatened himself and the batman to completely go berserk. It pinned the Batman as he continued to deliver heavy blows to its head in an attempt to finish the job. Four strikes were delivered and when that’s done, he threw the bat right at the center of the hall grabbing his Shovel.

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Dubhlainn shot the coldest glare at the Batman, not a hint of humanity remained and all that one can see in his eyes is nothing but rage as the aura of killing intent becomes evident. It was exactly as how Sinali prey upon the batman before, with no chances of escape and facing a fate worse than death. Dubhlainn slammed the shovel down on the Batman’s broken head, splitting it open and ending the battle. No more screams were made since and silence once again ruled the halls and only the blue flames that lit it created the gloomy atmosphere.

“Perhaps Fate lead me here to silence the unfortunate, rest where you lie.”

Blood streamed from the bat’s head as the surrounding floor was cracked almost as if a crater landed here. Now it was time for Dubhlainn to investigate the rune he found on the altar and as soon as he touched the rune, a shockwave impacted as it filled the halls with magic. It was a kind of spell that simulates a memory of the place during the ancient times. The memory he witnessed was that many sacrificial ceremonies were held here, cultists and worshippers sing the requiem as they execute live offering into an idol which had a skull as a head. It appeared to be the old traditions of the guild right before the Lichborne was summoned. As the memory ends, so does Dubhlainn’s task to explore the catacombs. He barricaded the passageway down to the deeper levels with several wooden benches. While he was cleaning, he found what appears to be an old map of the 11th and 12th floor only reveal a secret room hidden somewhere in the hall.

According to the map it was behind an old shrine where idol used to sit. Closer examination reveals that the shrine itself is a doorway that lead Dubhlainn into an old isolated room filled with nothing but dust and cobwebs.

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The member 'Dubhlainn' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Dubhlainn raised his eyebrow curious at the chest that sat in the middle of the hidden room only to discover ancient coins, the old riches of the ancient cultists. Not only did he manage to find a map of the following floors, he also managed to loot what seemed to be a secret vault. He made haste and took all of it quickly knowing that the spoils he managed to obtain here will serve him well in his future endeavors. Before ascending back to the upper levels, he picked up all weapons which was scattered all over the place and though of course there was absolutely no way to save the shovel now.

He glanced back at his slain foe as well as the passage he barricaded. As he ascended upwards, a thought comes to mind. It was something that bothered him during his fight with the beast. It was the carvings on the organ which seemed to be another set of runes and after watching the memory of the ancients he discovered that the organ itself was used as an instrument to harvest souls from the bodies of the dead and offer it to the Idol which soon afterwards gave power to the Lich.

Does Savage Skull still remember its old traditions to bring back the terrifying entity that was said to rule these lands? No one knows for sure not even to Dubhlainn but as far as he’s concerned, it be bad news for him and for all.