Grave Danger

-Outside Silent Cemetery-

Dismounting her Winged Lion summon and dispelling it, Leona was wearing her new Adaptable Armor that had been sent to her courtesy of Mister Burke of Shirotsume. Since it was custom-made for her, it fit perfectly and was comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. She could also change its color at will to match her environment if she wanted to. It was a special armor that was specially made for mages; manipulating ethernanos were how she could change its color in an instant to match her environment. Leona doubted that any type of camouflage would hide her from the undead, but she did not need to hide from them when she had strong magic and strong weapons.

Leona wore the new armor over her green-and-gold outfit. She carried with her her backpack, Nightshade Machete, and Silver Longsword. On her hands were her Argent Gloves, which had been with her on many adventures and which had saved her life numerous times. Leona was about as prepared as she was going to be for this adventure, at least materially. She was always a bit apprehensive when entering the unearthly silence that dominated the aptly-named Silent Cemetery.

It had been a little over a day since the successful resolution of Santa's invasion of Era. Leona, Yuvon, Adalinda, and Garnet had all contributed to the victory, but Song Talea ultimately won the day by convincing Santa to halt his invasion and leave without any further violence, which was a surprising resolution because the Guild Master was convinced that Santa meant to exterminate everyone in Earthland. The mage was somewhat ashamed of herself for preaching a peaceful approach to problem-solving and then turning around and beating up elves, polar bears, trees throwing presents, and Santa himself. She was ashamed of that glaring bit of hypocrisy, but when it came to defending the lives of the innocent, Leona would not flinch from doing what had to be done. She was glad that the conflict was ended with minimal property or forest damage.

Now the blonde was taking on a new challenge, another job on behalf of the Order of Lightbringers. On this job she was to go to Silent Cemetery and work with another mage to investigate a strange spike in undead activity that was high even for the Cursed Lands. Leona was to work with a high-ranking Order cleric named Athena and determine what the cause of it was. Father Morris feared that it was the work of necromancers and urged Leona to be cautious. In addition to her other supplies, Leona had also brought along her anti-curse vials to avoid becoming a zombie if she should suffer the misfortune of being bitten.

After doing a final check of her gear, Leona opened the wrought iron gates to the cemetery and went inside. The Silver Wolf mage planned to link up with Athena because having a partner in zombie-infested territory was never a bad idea. Having a reliable job partner sometimes meant the difference between life and death.

-Inside Silent Cemetery-

Leona entered the cemetery to find herself facing down a brown-haired mage in a predominantly white outfit who wielded a golden polearm with a ruby in the middle of the blade. She must have been Athena because the Silver Wolf mage recognized the Order's sigil on a pendant the white-clad mage was wearing. The cleric greeted her warmly and extended a hand.

"Hi there! You must be Leona Jarnefeldt of Silver Wolf!" The young woman greeted her.

"I'm Leona Jarnefeldt of Silver Wolf." Leona greeted her, taking the hand and shaking it. Athena's eyes were examining every inch of the mage standing before her. The blonde saw that Athena stood at roughly her height and had long brown hair that was done in two long ponytails or whatever the hairstyle was called. The cleric's attire contrasted sharply with Leona's own, but this was not a fashion show... they were here to undertake a serious task.

"Diana, Amanda, and Jessica told me so much about you!" Athena gushed. Leona raised an eyebrow.

"I hope that what you heard was good." Leona said noncommittally. She was not used to having a fan club of any kind, let alone a fan club from the always serious Order of Lightbringers. It felt like they were deliberately keeping her at arm's length and using her for their own purposes as an expendable asset. As long as they kept providing helpful books to her guild, Leona would keep undertaking dangerous missions on their behalf. Undertaking dangerous missions for the sake of knowledge was what Leona did to stock the guild's library with up-to-date books on supernatural threats.

Athena's Appearance:

[Word Count: 782]
[Total Word Count: 782/8,000]

"They all had a lot of praise for you, Leona!" Athena continued while Leona listened politely as the cleric went on and on about what the other Order members had to say about her. She wanted to get on with the mission and get out of here, but lately it seemed like she could not stay away from this place. By her count this was the fifth or sixth job that had taken place in Silent Cemetery over her career. She listened to Athena go on and on until she heard something that sounded like moaning on the wind, when the blonde raised a hand for silence.

"Do you hear that?" Leona asked Athena.

"I thought I heard something, but I'm not-" Athena started to answer before Leona raised a hand again. The moaning sounded just a little bit louder this time, like it was closer than it was when it first started.

"I heard it this time!" Athena announced succinctly. Leona did too. She drew her machete and got ready to fight because the arrival of zombies was usually preceded by moaning. That had been the case in Fulci Cemetery a few weeks ago and it was certain to be the case this time as well. Athena prepared her polearm, which looked like a spear with a rather large golden spearhead. Leona thought that it was a bit gaudy for a weapon, but at long as it killed zombies she could live with it.

A trio of zombies shambled towards them with arms outstretched and tattered clothing on their bodies. Leona did not wait for them to close in; she took the offensive and jumped into the air, using an Air Burst to try and take them down before they got in melee range. She destroyed the heads of two of them with the projectiles but missed the third one's head by a margin of inches, but Athena stepped in and lunged with her spear, destroying the zombie's head with a single stab from the large spearhead.

"That was easy!" Athena commented enthusiastically.

"Don't relax just yet. There's plenty more where those guys came from. We're on their home turf, after all." Leona reminded the cleric to avoid dropping her guard just because they had killed three zombies. Zombies were abundant in the Cursed Lands and were particularly abundant in Silent Cemetery.

"Father Morris seems to think that there's something suspicious about the large number of zombie sightings reported in this cemetery. He says that there have been a lot of them, even for this area." Athena said before the duo started walking forward, gingerly stepping over the fallen zombies and walking past rows and rows of tombstones.

"I wonder what's behind it?" Leona asked rhetorically. She did not know whether the upsurge in zombie activity was the work of necromancers or just some unexplained event that was unique to Silent Cemetery. Based on what she had read about the region, there was no special event that governed the rise of the undead... they seemed to thrive here simply because it was the Cursed Lands. Leona thought about asking Dr. Miller for information about the cemetery the next time they met.

"I read about one of the jobs you took in this area, which was to rescue a Dr. Katrina Miller and her team from zombies after the mercenary protection they hired fled on them during an attack by the undead. I also read where she theorized that magic was the reason that the dead were coming back to life to begin with." Athena said to Leona to keep the conversation going. In between sentences they could hear nothing but silence punctuated by a sharp gust of wind or the occasional moan carried on the wind. The sound of moaning meant that they would eventually run into more shamblers that needed to be put down again.

"Yeah. I remember Dr. Miller saying that she felt a strong magic presence coming from one of the cemetery vaults, but we couldn't investigate because there was just too many zombies. I had to get the remaining scientists out of here before we were overrun." Leona replied while looking out for trouble. They arrived at a junction in the path where they could go either left or right. The two mages looked at the path and then looked at each other, each hoping that their partner would have an answer to the unspoken question that was on their minds. Which way did they go?

"Which way do you want to go?" Leona asked Athena. The cleric simply shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. Maybe left?" Athena replied with uncertainty. Moments later they heard low dragging sounds drifting from the left.

"OK, but we'd better be careful because there's noise coming from that direction. We could have company real soon." Leona warned her job partner. Athena brandished her spear and nodded in acknowledgement. The two mages followed the path left and kept walking past tombstones and the occasional burial vault.

[Word Count: 836]
[Total Word Count: 1,618/8,000]

It was eerily quiet in Silent Cemetery. Like so many other trips before this one, there were no ambient sounds other than that of the wind blowing through the tombstones. This time there was moaning, but it was not a sound that the mages wanted to hear because that noise meant that trouble was close by. The mages also heard the occasional sound of a burial vault sliding open. That was not something that they wanted to hear.

"Hear that?" Athena asked, her spear held at the ready as the sound of stone grinding against stone filled the air. The pair stopped in the middle of the path, which was just past a row of tombstones that were overgrown with ivy. The ivy made the tombstones illegible, but that was the least of their worries. A pair of burial vaults opened up and moaning was heard from within them.

"Yeah. Get ready!" Leona warned as she drew her machete. The pair stood back-to-back and prepared to fight for their lives. Moments later the vaults disgorged their undead occupants, which poured out in a rotting stream of former humans with their arms raised and jaws open.

Leona used a Wind Blast to bowl over some of her attackers while Athena raised her spear above her head and began channeling magic into it until the spearhead grew a golden single-edged blade. She then pointed the spearhead at the zombies and fired off a beam of golden light that vaporized her assailants and turned them to ash picked up by the wind. Leona fired a Wind Bullet that burst the head of one zombie, its body slumping over as its friends streamed by it in a blind rush to get at the blonde. Leona stood her ground and used a Crescent Cutter to split the heads of three zombies who had been kind enough to line themselves up for her. A pair of zombies made it into melee range and Leona met one with a downward machete chop to the head that pierced its brain.

Leona kicked the zombie off and repeated the procedure against its friend. Two zombies were dead, but six more were shuffling towards her with arms raised and hands grasping for prey. Athena stepped in and threw a pulsating ball of golden energy that landed right in the middle of the cluster of enemies and exploded, catching them all in an expanding spherical blast of energy that reduced them to ash.

"Well, that's the end of that." Athena quipped cheerfully. Leona was glad to see the end of them too. Each vault had sent out at least thirteen zombies apiece; while that was not a lot of them, they could have swamped the mages by weight of numbers if they had not been checked by Athena's arsenal of crowd control attacks. Leona dried off her machete on the corpse of a zombie and put it away.

"Nice going." Leona complimented the brown-haired cleric. Leona was not sure that having such long hair done up in a hairstyle that was easy to grab was such a good idea because it would be easy for a zombie to grab Athena and either hold her by her hair or use it to pull the cleric in for a bite. Athena did not seem concerned, so Leona let the matter drop and focused on the path ahead. The blonde noticed another pack of six zombies up ahead, but these zombies were different. Their eyes glowed almost white and their exposed skin was blood red.

"Looks like we've got more company." Athena quipped while spinning the spear in her hands.

"Something's different about these guys. Be careful!" Leona warned her job partner just before the zombies noticed them. They raised their arms, issued a moan, and shuffled straight for them. Athena and Leona both took a step back. The zombies were doing a speed shuffle that was at the running speed of an average healthy human!

Leona aimed and fired a Wind Bullet that destroyed the head of one of them but was unable to aim at the other two before they were in melee range. She had to resort to her machete to fend off the remaining two, slicing off the right arm of one of them before the other one grappled her forearms. The unlikely pair began a frenzied dance to see who could gain enough leverage to win the fight. The blonde had to kick back the one-armed zombie several times to keep it from biting her while her hands were tangled up in keeping her dance partner at bay. Athena was busy fighting her own struggle with the zombies, who had grabbed her spear and threw it aside.

Although she did not have her spear, the cleric was far from defenseless. Her hands glowed gold and she thrust both palms outward, generating a blast of golden energy that disintegrated her attackers with ease. She then picked up her spear and aided the struggling Leona by dispatching her dance partner with a spear through the head. Thus freed of her undead entanglement, Leona used a Mach Straight to the face to knock the last red zombie down, then picked up her machete and rammed it through its skull with a downward stab as it struggled to get up.

"I've never dealt with fast zombies before." Athena calmly announced.

"I've dealt with them twice before. They're tough customers if you're not ready for them." Leona informed Athena. The blonde had dealt with them in Beanstalk Forest and in Fulci Cemetery. The first encounter in Beanstalk Forest was the worst because they did a number on Leona's stomach and forearms with their claws. The Fulci Cemetery encounter was still unpleasant but less of a surprise because she knew what to expect that time. The pale zombie with long black hair was the worst of them because of its speed and ability to summon more zombies with a wail, but it was every bit as vulnerable to head trauma as its lesser brethren.

"I see that you're quite the zombie killer." Athena quipped as Leona retrieved her machete by planting a foot on the zombie's chest and pulling upward with both hands.

"Yeah. I've done at least five jobs here, so I know how to deal with zombies." Leona replied. Athena looked somewhat surprised by that information.

"I can tell. You're not even bothered by them. Jessica was right... they're more like nuisances to you than a real threat." Athena added.

"I wouldn't say that they're total pushovers, but knowing how to deal with them goes a long way in making it easier." Leona commented calmly. Zombies were not super-powered creatures. They were just human corpses that were brought back to life with an appetite for the flesh of the living. Unless a type of zombie that was invulnerable to head trauma came along, they would remain at best mild threats to the blonde.

"Now let's get going. I don't want to hang around here any longer than I have to." Leona said. Athena nodded and the pair started down the path again. Up ahead was nothing but rows of tombstones and burial vaults.

Red Zombies:

[Word Count: 1,200]
[Total Word Count: 2,818/8,000]

Leona and Athena continued down the path, keeping an eye out for any more zombies that were longing for human flesh. They had swept aside some zombie resistance earlier but were far from out of the woods because their objective lay deeper in undead territory. Another strike against the pair was that they did not even know what it was they were looking for. All they had to go on was that undead activity had increased above its normal levels. Other than that tiny scrap of information, they were going into hostile territory blind.

"Do we even know where we're going?" Athena asked Leona point-blank.

"Nope. Not at all. I was hoping that you'd have some information that I didn't." Leona admitted dryly. Athena sighed.

"I don't know anything either. I'm just here to find out what's going on and put a stop to it." Athena commented.

"Maybe we should look for something out of the ordinary." Leona started to suggest before she was cut off.

"Like human corpses coming back to life and pouring out of burial vaults is normal?" Athena sarcastically quipped. Leona ignored the sarcasm and continued the conversation.

"I meant something like maybe a crypt that they were coming from." Leona answered. The fact that they were encountering zombies along the way did not necessarily mean that they were on the right path. Zombies were everywhere in this place.

"That's a good idea too. Maybe one of them's been modified in some way by humans." Athena picked up on Leona's train of thought.

"Exactly." Leona stated tersely. They continued down the path until they faced a wrought iron fence that led to another part of the cemetery. It was flanked by glowing lanterns that gave off a pale yellow light.

"Looks like we're at the end of the road. Let's go through." Athena said. Leona nodded and pulled the fence open. The pair walked through and went into the next part of the cemetery on their search for the source of the zombie activity.

-In the next section-

Leona shut the fence behind them to prevent any zombies who rose up behind them from getting in. They noticed that the area was one full of burial vaults that had already been opened from within. That was not what they wanted to see. Their occupants could be anywhere around here.

"Do you see that? The vaults are already open!" Athena pointed out.

"Yeah. I don't like it at all." Leona replied, not taking her eyes off the opened vaults. They walked down the path and looked for any sign of the occupants and kept listening for the telltale moaning that indicated that zombies were nearby. They did not hear that either. Either no zombies were around or they were dealing with smarter zombies who knew how to keep quiet before springing an ambush. The mages kept going until they spotted a red zombie on patrol outside a crypt with its doors ominously open.

The red zombie spotted them and sounded a loud rasping noise, then charged at them. Athena dealt with it by throwing her spear and hitting it squarely in the forehead. The zombie paused in place, then twisted and fell over to the ground on its side, the spear shaft emitting a soft THUNK as it hit the ground. Athena walked over and retrieved it with a perturbed look on her face.

"Hey, did you see that? That zombie was actually patrolling the area. It wasn't just blindly walking around and hoping to run into something!" Athena noted with alarm. Leona had caught onto that too.

"Yeah. Either they've gotten smarter..." Leona started saying before the cleric picked up where she left off.

"Or someone's controlling them. But who's controlling them? And why?" Athena asked two pertinent questions after finishing Leona's statement for her. Neither one of them had good answers to those questions. All they knew was that somehow the undead were getting smarter.

"Do you think we'll find our answers down there?" Athena asked while pointing her spear at the open entrance to the crypt that was right in front of them. It had stone steps that led down into darkness. That was not creepy at all.

"I think so. It's worth a look." Leona opined. She had no other ideas and could not think of any other reason why a zombie would actually be on patrol if there was not something important to protect. She drew her machete and carefully walked over to the beckoning entrance. Her train of thought was going at a rapid pace. What if the red zombie was only a scout that served as an early warning system for whoever controlled the undead?

"I'll take the lead. Watch my back!" Leona said to Athena. The cleric nodded and stood watch as Leona descended into the darkness with nothing but a machete, some armor on her chest and hands, and a need for answers. Leona's natural night vision took effect and allowed her to cut through the subterranean gloom as she carefully made her way down the stairs. When she reached bottom, she stood watch as Athena came down to join her.

"I'm right behind you!" Athena whispered into Leona's ear so that she did not get a machete through the forehead or abdomen.

"OK." Leona whispered in response. The two mages had made it into the crypt without any problems. Now they had to make their way through it and hope that they found whatever it was that they were looking for. However, that would not be easy because the crypt itself was working against them from the very start. Aside from the darkness that could conceal any number of zombies, they also had to deal with the narrow confines of their environment.

The passageway was barely tall enough to accommodate Leona's height and barely wide enough to allow them to travel side-by-side. There was no extra room to maneuver, so Leona put away her machete and drew her knife. It required less room to wield than a machete; since the quarters were so tight that factor would be important. Athena dispelled her spear and drew a silver dagger as her close-quarters weapon. Their reach was shorter than that of a machete or spear, but their ease of use in close quarters went a long way towards making up for their lack of reach.

"I'm ready when you are." Athena whispered.

"OK then. Follow me." Leona whispered back before starting the slow walk forward and into the crypt. They would have to be careful if they wanted to survive the perilous underground expedition. With enough vigilance and a hefty dose of luck, the pair would avoid becoming the crypt's newest residents.

[Word Count: 1,124]
[Total Word Count: 3,942/8,000]

-Inside the crypt-

With knives at the ready, the two mages carefully walked down the narrow hallway in an effort to avoid any unpleasant surprises. They had precious little room to move and even less to maneuver, so any fighting was inevitably going to be at very close range. Thankfully Leona's magic did not require very much room to use, but she did not know about the magic of her Order colleague. Speaking of magic, she wondered how Athena's magic reserves were holding out.

"Hey Athena, how are your magic reserves?" Leona whispered a question to her job partner.

"I'm still good." Athena answered quickly.

"So am I." Leona passed along information about her own magic status to her partner. Since they could not use weapons with long reach, they would have to rely on their magic for ranged attacks. Athena had demonstrated that she possessed a respectable arsenal of them. Leona had some tricks of her own, including her old standby Wind Blast for when enemies got too close.

They walked past upright coffins in wall slots just big enough to accommodate the containers. The two mages were wary of the coffins because there was no telling if their occupants were still inside or not. Something bright caught their attention; Leona spotted an opening at the end of the hall that was flanked by burning torches in wall sconces.

"You see that?" Athena asked, pointing a finger at the torches and the doorway.

"Yeah, but don't get fixated on it. We still have a lot of coffins to walk by. More zombies could pop out at any moment." Leona replied to Athena. The cleric nodded and slowly turned around to watch their backs as they slowly made their way towards the burning torches. It was dark, quiet, and cold in the underground crypt, each step fostering paranoia about when the other shoe was going to drop. Not helping matters was that they were underground in enclosed spaces that favored the undead defenders. Without much room to dodge or use their preferred weapons, Leona and Athena were at a disadvantage because they would have to carefully coordinate their maneuvers while the zombies would not have to worry about such things as hitting friendlies.

Leona and Athena were almost to the torches when the coffins ahead of them burst open and out stepped six red zombies. Both mages took a step back as their aggressors spotted them and began the speed shuffle. To make matters worse, the coffins behind them had opened to unveil slower zombies lying in wait.

"Damn! We're trapped!" Athena complained.

"I'll deal with the red ones. You clear the area behind us!" Leona ordered. Athena nodded and put her back to Leona as the red ones closed in. Leona fired a Wind Bullet that destroyed the head of the leader and followed up with a Wind Blast that knocked three of the remaining five zombies back and nearly snuffed out the torches. One of the red zombies closed in and grabbed for Leona, receiving a knife to the temple for its trouble. The other grabbed her left arm and bit down on the Argent Glove, giving the blonde just enough time to smash it in the face with a Mach Straight and knock it against the wall.

Meanwhile Athena held her hands out in front of her and began whispering an incantation. A golden circle formed in front of her hands and spun around as golden energy focused into it. Once the incantation was complete she pushed forward and fired a beam that illuminated the hallway as it utterly destroyed the zombie army shambling in behind them.

While Athena destroyed the enemies closing in from behind Leona was busy dealing with the remaining four red zombies. They had her pinned to a wall and they were all attacking at once. Leona did her best to keep them at bay while their claws scratched at her arms and torso.

"I need help!" Leona called out, punching a zombie in the face with a Mach Jab and knocking some of its teeth out.

"Got it! Close your eyes!" Athena instructed. Leona closed her eyes and a beam of energy disintegrated two of her attackers. Leona took advantage of the opening to use a Hurricane Punch to hammer one of them with a dozen rapid punches while the other peeled off and went for Athena. The cleric met the attack by stepping forward and ramming her silver dagger into its forehead. The Silver Wolf mage finished her opponent with a Mach Straight that knocked it backwards, then stomped its head until it caved in under her foot.

"Are you OK?" Athena asked Leona while the former retrieved her dagger. The blonde's arms were scratched up but her torso was just fine thanks to the Adaptable Armor. She was glad that she took the time to put on the armor before leaving the guild hall.

"Yeah. My arms are bleeding a little, but I'm OK. Do you think I'll turn into one of them?" Leona asked Athena before retrieving her own knife from the temple of the dead fast zombie she had killed before being trapped with her back to the wall.

"No. As long as you weren't bitten and were unable to use an anti-curse potion or spell, you're fine. I'll heal your arms before we move on!" Athena informed her. Leona was relieved to hear that news. Athena laid glowing golden hands on her arms and the superficial wounds instantly closed up.

"Thanks." Leona expressed her gratitude to the cleric.

"No problem. Healing people is what a cleric does." Athena answered with a bright smile. Leona and Athena faced the doorway marked by torches and listened out for any more shamblers who were late to the party. They waited two full minutes to make sure that they had killed all the zombies before moving on. They also wanted to make sure that they had a clear route in case they needed to fall back before an advancing horde. The mages waited for three additional minutes and did not hear any more oncoming enemies, so Leona went through the doorway with her knife in hand as Athena watched their backs.

Leona stopped when she saw more coffins lining the walls ahead of them. She wordlessly pointed at them to Athena, who cursed to herself and brought out an orb of golden light to light the way. Leona was glad for the light because it gave her a bit of a mood lift as well as lighting the way for them.

[Word Count: 1,100]
[Total Word Count: 5,042/8,000]

-Inside the next section-

Leona and Athena entered another straight hallway with glowing torches serving as a beacon to the mages. This setup certainly looked familiar. They slowly walked down the corridor, expecting the coffins to be flung open at any moment and more undead to come out and protect their subterranean home. The coffin doors had remained shut so far, but they did not know how long that state of affairs would last. The pair reached the halfway point and nothing had happened yet.

"I don't get this. We strolled right past their coffins without anything happening. They should be swarming us by now." Athena whispered.

"Yeah. What gives?" Leona whispered a question.

"I don't like this at all. It's quiet." Athena continued the conversation.

"Yeah." Leona answered concisely.

They continued on to the doorway and spun around, expecting to face a small army of rotting adversaries that had mobilized to cut off their escape route. Instead all they faced was an empty and soundless hallway. The mages did not know which was worse... facing an army of zombies or facing an empty hallway with the knowledge that sooner or later it would be full of walking corpses. Since there was no immediate threat to fight, they turned around and entered another hallway, but this one had overturned coffins strewn haphazardly across the floor with body parts casually hanging out of them. Athena did not like the scene.

"I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it." Athena commented while they slowly made their way around the upturned coffins, some with occupants still inside. Their bodies were in various states of disarray; one body would be missing its arms while another would be missing legs while yet another was missing the head. There was no rhyme or reason to the missing parts because all the corpses were skeletal. Leona did not know what kind of logic was employed in the selection of parts and part of her did not want to know. She thought that necromancers used only "fresh" parts for their creations.

They kept going down the hallway lined with macabre decorations until they came across a large circular room with a dome for a roof. Leona turned around and spotted three large dioramas that instantly commanded her attention. They were all framed in what resembled an unfurled scroll held open by skeletal hands on each side.

At the entrance of the room was a diorama of armed skeletons and zombies holding tattered skull banners while marching on a farming village populated by cheerful people who were in the middle of celebrating a festival. In the middle of the room was a diorama of the attack in progress; panicking villagers ran for their lives as skeletal cavalry on skeletal horses rode after them with lances aimed at their backs and a few scattered villagers holding farm implements hastily tried to organize a defense in the town square. The right side of the room featured a diorama with the victorious undead marching through the bloodstained streets and trampling over human corpses on their way to repeat the process in some other unfortunate village.

"Well, that artwork's certainly cheerful." Athena snarked about the dioramas as she put away her silver dagger and brought out her spear. Leona put away her knife and drew her machete. Unlike the cramped hallways, this room had much more space to maneuver in if they had to fight. It also was spacious enough to let them use weapons with longer reach.

Scattered about the room were skeletons lying on the floor. Dominating the center of the room was a stone pulpit with a bas-relief of a human skull on the front and sides with a large black book sitting on it. Athena looked at Leona warily.

"Do you think that book has any useful information in it?" Leona asked the cleric.

"I'm not sure. I'm trained to resist the dark arts, so it'll be safer if I take a look at it." Athena answered, walking up to the podium and looking at the book. Her eyes darted from side to side as she read its contents. Leona kept a watch for zombies or skeletons who did not like intruders tromping about in their crypt.

"It's a journal of some kind. It's describing how the author traveled from the Abandoned Cabin to Silent Cemetery and took up residence in this crypt." Athena informed Leona. Mentioning the Abandoned Cabin made the blonde recall her adventure with the Order knight Jessica and how they found a journal that briefly described what went into making an Essence Orb. Leona thought that the omission was deliberate to keep other necromancers from stealing the author's work and using it to attain immortality. Either the author did not want someone stealing their work or they left it vague so that they could deny the notes were theirs if apprehended by authorities.

"Do you think the person who wrote it is the same one who wrote the notebook from the Abandoned Cabin?" Leona asked Athena.

"It's entirely possible." Athena quipped while continuing to read. Leona frowned because that answer was rather vague. She was hoping that the cleric would have given her a little more information, something that told the Silver Wolf mage that she had not wasted her time under the Abandoned Cabin. Right now she was not getting that confirmation. Leona kept quiet and let Athena read in peace... she looked around the room again for any kind of clues as to the owner's whereabouts or clues concerning the activities that went on in here.

Leona immediately began searching the room for a hidden lab with hidden equipment. She began knocking on walls to listen for different sounds and looking for hidden doors or switches. Something had to be here for a book to be left behind. Leona gradually worked her way around the room and did not find anything out of place with the walls, so maybe there was a way to open a secret compartment. The blonde's attention turned to the podium Athena was standing at.

[Word Count: 1,020]
[Total Word Count: 6,062/8,000]

Leona peered all around the podium as Athena kept reading the journal. The Order cleric took notice and looked at Leona with curiosity and incredulity as the blonde began tapping random places on the podium. She was moved to comment on the Silver Wolf mage's activity.

"What are you doing? Do you really think there's a secret passage or secret room in here?" Athena asked Leona. The blonde looked under the bent front cover of the book and noticed a small square button that was protruding from the podium's surface.

"Actually, I do. I think there's something hidden in here." Leona answered the question before gently moving the book aside and tapping the button with her finger. It went down and clicked. The central diorama split open and the two sides pulled out, exposing a hidden room with a paper map lying on a wooden table. Beside it was a small brown notebook exactly like the one retrieved from under the Abandoned Cabin.

"How did you... how did you know to even try that?" Athena asked incredulously.

"I didn't know for certain. I got lucky this time." Leona answered truthfully. Athena picked up her jaw long enough to abandon the journal and walk over to the newly exposed room to examine its contents. Leona followed soon after, keeping her distance in case the items were tainted by dark magic.

"It's OK. The map and notebook are safe. I don't detect any traces of dark magic on them, so you can approach." Athena informed her. Leona obligingly sidled up to the table and took a look at the map, which was a map of Earthland with a few red circles on various regions in the Cursed Lands. Athena leaned in closer and looked at the map, appearing to recognize the circled areas.

"This one's the Abandoned Cabin. And this one's Silent Cemetery." Athena noted as she pointed out each area for Leona's benefit. The blonde nodded and listened to the cleric. Athena's finger then pointed to another red circle.

"This one's Lycan Woods." She said. Her finger moved to another one roughly a foot away.

"This one's Sombra Manor." She said before placing her finger on the final circle.

"And this one's Fat Monsterland." She said, tapping her finger on the map. Leona thought she understood what was going on but was not quite certain yet. She wondered if they were potential areas that the author of the books had visited or was going to visit.

"I'm thinking that these are places that the person's been scouting for a new hideout." Athena opined.

"Why don't we check the journal and find out?" Leona asked the cleric. Athena nodded.

"Good idea. I'll read the notebook while you check for anything else that might be hidden." Athena suggested. Leona gave a thumbs-up and began searching the small rectangular room for anything else that might be hidden. Meanwhile Athena began reading aloud.

"Today I left the Abandoned Cabin and settled in Silent Cemetery. The authorities and their accursed Rune Knight hounds were getting too close to me. I knew I should have not kidnapped and killed that duchess, but her soul was so pure that it was worth all the trouble. Now I need only thirteen more like it to complete my latest work." Athena read a section of the notebook as Leona scoured the room for hidden objects.

"I wonder if the latest work's that improved Essence Orb that was mentioned in the notebook from Abandoned Cabin." Leona voiced her opinion as she checked under the table. She found a small circular protrusion and strained to reach it. Athena continued reading.

"I need to move on from here. Kidnapping mourners is getting much more difficult than it has been. It is only a matter of time before the authorities catch onto my activities. Perhaps I should go to the manor of shadows. There only the bravest souls dare to go." She read before stopping. Leona finally tapped the small circular protrusion under the table and was rewarded when Athena yelped and jumped back. What had she uncovered this time?

"Hey, look! It's another secret alcove! And there's a coin in it!" Athena exclaimed. Leona climbed backwards from under the table and stood up straight just in time to see the cleric walk over to the alcove and pick up the coin. She held it up to the light and Leona could just make out a skull in the middle of it. Two objects were beside it and two words were above it.

"Memento Mori." Athean read aloud.

"What's that mean?" Leona asked her job partner.

"It's a phrase in an old language." Athena explained. Leona still did not know what it meant.

"Remember that you will die." Athena provided a translation for Leona. Leona raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that's cheerful. This guy's so hung up on death that it's more than a bit disturbing." Leona opined to her partner, who rolled up the map and picked up the notebook. Her face had a look of urgency.

"Get that book off the podium for me. We need to take these items back to the Order. We're leaving." Athena commanded. Leona nodded and picked the black book up from its perch and carried it under her left arm. The pair took one last look at the macabre dioramas and left the room and its skeletal occupants behind. They retraced their steps through the hallways and eventually reached the surface. They were glad to see the outside world again because the time spent in the crypt was more than a little unnerving.

-Outside the crypt-

"I'm glad to be out of there." Athena said to Leona, who had her machete in one hand and the black book in the other.

"Me too." Leona said concisely. Even though she was not really afraid, she hated being in close quarters with only limited options with which to defend herself. If it were not for her Adaptable Armor protecting her torso, the blonde might be in even worse shape than she was. As it stood, her sleeves were torn, but that was about all the harm she suffered from today's expedition. Leona counted herself very lucky to have had Athena with her.

"Let's go back to Holy Castle." Athena said. She handed Leona the other two items, then raised her spear above her head and muttered an incantation. Moments later Leona felt herself being lifted in a column of gold light before vanishing.

The Coin:

[Word Count: 1,084]
[Total Word Count: 7,146/8,000]

-Holy Castle-

Athena and Leona appeared in a burst of golden light. Athena dispelled her spear and took the books and map from Leona, who put away her machete and watched Athena stroll towards the castle doors. Leona was not sure if she should follow, so she hung back and let Athena go in. The castle doors shut behind the cleric and the blonde was about to go call it a day because she had done her job.

Moments later the castle doors reopened and Father Morris strode out in the company of Athena and Diana. Leona set aside thoughts of leaving for the moment because it appeared that the older man wanted to speak with her. A smile was on his face.

"Well done, Miss Jarnefeldt. You have come through for us once again!" He congratulated her. Leona listened to the man and just felt glad that the job was over. Neither she nor Athena had gotten seriously hurt and they had recovered three more items that might help them find the person who had killed so many people to make the Essence Orb and possibly an improved version that required one hundred souls to make.

"We weren't able to determine why so many zombies were about, but we found other items of interest. I think they may have something to do with that Essence Orb Jessica and I delivered a few days ago." Leona said to Father Morris.

"Athena told me about what you two had found in the crypt. Our priorities must shift from the zombies to discovering who has been killing people to create those dreadful orbs. We will begin analyzing the items that were found and let you know when we have a solid lead." The older man informed her. Leona could not argue with that logic. Finding out who was making the orbs was of higher priority than figuring out why Silent Cemetery was full of zombies.

"Athena was the real star of this job. I was only there for support." Leona claimed.

"And support her you did. She told me that you found the hidden room with the map and notebook. She also said that you found that strange coin with the skull on it." Father Morris asserted.

"She killed most of the zombies, including those faster red ones." Leona added.

"Athena told me about them. We have heard reports of fast zombies, but our records have nothing like the ones that she reported. We will have to update our records and lean on local authorities to issue a travel warning for the area until we are able to resolve this incident." He stated. Leona would have to be satisfied with that. As much as she would have liked to travel the cemetery and make sure that every red zombie was dead to ensure the safety of travelers, she and Athena did not have the time because the cleric had deemed getting back to Holy Castle with what information they had collected the higher priority of the two.

"Do not worry, Leona. We will send Diana, Jessica, and other Knights of the Order to scour the cemetery for those new zombies and destroy any that they may find. In the meantime, you must stand ready to answer our call because we will need your help very soon." He set her mind at ease before informing the Silver Wolf mage that she would have to work for them again very soon. Leona appreciated the steady work and the faith that the Order of Lightbringers had put in her abilities, but she was not sure if the Order had her best interests in mind when they kept sending her to dangerous regions. She was not sure how much trust they really had in her.
It felt like the Order did not really trust her ever since Amanda reported that the blonde had heard demonic voices whispering to her in the Haunted Guild.

"All right then. I'll let you guys get to it. You know where to find me." Leona said to Father Morris. She was about to leave and return to Silver Wolf Guild Hall in order to recover from this adventure and await the Order's next call for help. Her work was done here and the Order's work in analyzing the recovered items was about to begin... they did not need her taking up space and distracting them from the task at hand.

Leona summoned her Winged Lion and was about to board it when she heard a voice calling to her. She turned and saw Father Morris approaching her.

"We appreciate your help so far, Miss Jarnefeldt. You have done us a valuable service in helping to push back the darkness that threatens to envelop our world. The battle against the darkness will never end, but it can be made easier with the help of brave individuals like you." The older man thanked her. Leona was not sure if the statement was sincere or just an empty platitude meant to keep her working for them, but in order to avoid offending them she chose to take it as a sincere expression of gratitude.

"It's no problem. I'm glad that I can help in some way." Leona said to him before mounting the Winged Lion. She climbed onto its back and spoke to him one last time.

"I'll be waiting for your call. Good luck with figuring out the documents!" Leona wished him before taking flight for Silver Wolf Guild Hall. She had done her job for today. Now it was time for the Order of Lightbringers to do their job and figure out where the person had moved their headquarters to. Maybe with enough time they could give her an exact location and she could help them end the experiments with the Essence Orbs once and for all. Whenever they found some information that could be acted upon, she would be there to help them.

Leona wondered what had happened in her absence from the guild hall. She was sure that there was a large stack of paperwork waiting on her to go through and file. A Guild Master's work was never through.

[Word Count: 1,030]
[Total Word Count: 8,176/8,000]