The Wizard

Below

They entered catacombs as big as the city. Passing tomb after tomb, crypts, and mausoleums. The very walls were made of human skeletons. Stacks of skulls, archways made out of femurs, doorways of spinal columns, intricate architectural details designed with fingers and toes. The whole place was a mass grave; an ossuary decorated by a pattern obsessed bone collector. 

"Generations must be buried here. A tad on the morbid side for me, but who's accounting for taste?" Grimble lit a pipe and its fragrant aroma was pleasant in the stifling air. 

"Reminds me of the hull of a ship I once crewed on." Øregård was at home with death, bones, and bodies. 

The Gastraddar ogre walked in the dark with no need for light. His bulging blue eyes dilated and saw his surroundings like a cat in the night. Mevner having no night vision ability relied on his ring and the glow from Grimble's ax. Shadows fell on a thousand skulls, empty eye sockets watched them make their way deeper into the maze of tunnels. 

The crypts fell away to more natural-looking caverns with primitive less ornate burial chambers. The main tunnel grew larger and spindling stalactites hung from the ceiling. Øregård stopped walking and raised his sword pointing further down into darkness. 

"Turn out the light," he said in a gruff whisper. 

Mevner did and Grimble shook his hammer to dim it as well. It took a few moments in pitch blackness to realize but there was light in the tunnel ahead. Mevner moved up behind Øregård and spoke to him so quietly that even Pathos de Martín, standing right next to them, strained to hear. 

"If I can get his arms exposed, you know what to do?"

Øregård gave a brief and almost unnoticeable nod in the affirmative and led them into the next section. 

The ceiling opened upward into an enormous cavern. The soft purple glow of eerie bioluminescent fungus reflected off a vast calm pool. The purple mushrooms were twisted, pointed, and bright striped. They might as well have had a sign posted saying poison. They grew around the underground lake and up the walls of the cavern. Occasionally a water droplet would fall disturbing the surface and sending ripples across the water and ceiling; bringing the cave to life. 

They stopped at the edge of the lake. There was no telling how deep it went. On the far side, a thin sloop docked at a stone pier and a marble vaulted entrance loomed beyond. 

"Don't step in the water." Mevner knelt and spread open his hand above it. 

"It's lovely to skate in the wintertime." 

The ice ring's glow intensified to a brilliant blue and a frost spread out across the lake. Steam rose off the surface and the temperature in the room dropped significantly. The water molecules began to shift to a solid-state and the surface reflection dulled to a soft white as the pond froze. Cracking sounds came as the ice penetrated deeper. 

Below the surface movement became abundant. 

"There're people down there!" Grimble lifted his hammer. 

"No Grimble." Mevner stepped in front of him. "Not people, look." 

They watched as horrid zombie looking creatures clawed and scratched from below the ice. Mevner touched the surface and deeper cracking sounds echoed across the chamber. The movement slowed and came to a stop as the pond froze to its bottom; trapping those below in frozen animation.

Mevner stood up. "I think it's safe now." 

They walked across the frozen lake guided by the dimming light of the purple mushrooms. Elegant footprints appeared ever so briefly as they melted the ice just enough to be visible and gave Pathos away as she moved in silent invisibility. She was like a guardian angel and the thought of that made Mevner happy.