Necromancer

Chapter 19

I began the ritual by sitting in the pentagram circle on the floor. "Make sure to stay still, focus on your breathing." My palms were sweaty as I gripped my knees. This was insane I haven't trained at all and now Janshai expects me to go in the spirit world. It took everything in me not to just get up and run. Janshai began humming and reciting a strange mantra; the circle glowed blue as the candle flames burned brighter. I felt a strange tingling sensation. "Don't worry it's normal just focus on your breath." I breathed in and out my chest rises and fell. Soon I was getting into a rhythm and the tingling subsided. "Once you make it in there find the tree." "What tree?" Janshai twirled his hands in a strange motion. The circle glowed as the blue flame circled around me. "You'll know it when you find it you've seen it once before." The flame began circling higher and higher. The flame covered Janshai from view. "Find the seer stone Nazul, I know you can. My brother might not thought you were ready, but I do." Before I could reply My body began evaporating like a smoke and my mind went blank. 

I opened my eyes and found myself in complete darkness. Before I started freaking out a overwhelming stench made me nauseous. It smelled of rotting flesh so pungent I almost gagged. I forced my self to walk as the smell got stronger. Dang what is that awful smell? Didn't know the underworld would smell like this. I walked in the complete darkness holding my hand outwards. I began tripping over rocks as the ground became rocky and warm to the touch. Somehow all my senses still worked in this world. I need to be careful. A warm red glow began to come into view.  I came to an edge of a cliff and couldn't believe what I saw. Below was a giant valley with magma streams running towards a huge lake of lava.  Thousands upon thousands of   the dead walked slowly to what looked like a giantstair case that lead up into the black smoky clouds. Now I knew where the smell was coming from. The dead were rotting corpses of blackened flesh. Even from up here the smell made me gag. The noxious heat radiated in the air. Crap I didn't know it would be this bad! I stared intently at the obsidian staircase that lead up. The seer stone is probably up there. It was my only lead so I had to take it. I began making my way down the cliff and slowly climbed down. The sharp rocks cut into my fingers as I held on. I tried not to look down at the huge drop below me. Sharp jagged stalagmites were along the ground. If I made one wrong move I would die... damn why I'm I here. If Madame Annette saw me doing this she would have a heart attack. Sadness crept in me as I remembered her. I hope she's okay, They don't know that I lived there anyway. She was probably worried sick. Maybe someday when all this dies down I could go for a visit. I pushed the thoughts of home out of my head and focused on the task at hand. I looked down and made a wrong step. Crap! Im falling shit! shit! Adrenaline rushed through as I fell screaming to my death. I flailed my arms wildly and landed with a sickening crush; Pain shot through my entire body as I shrieked in pain. "AHHHHHHH!" The pain quickly subsided as I realized I wasn't dead. What the hell? I fell like 100 feet!? I stood up shakily and saw that I was surrounded by the rotting walking corpses. It seems they paid no attention to the fall. I began walking as the ground under my shoes began to get uncomfortably warm. The smell was even worse as hundreds of their bodies surrounded me. "Augghhh" They growled as I went by but otherwise did nothing. The smoky air made it harder and harder to breath. Damn this place, where they hell do I even go!? I walked wearily as I made slow progress towards the staircase in the sky. I studied the faces of the dead as I walked by. Most weren't even recognizable as human. There clothes were ragged and torn. Burns and gashes covered their wretched bodies.  One old man had a single eyeball dangling out of its socket. It bounced up and down as he shuffled along. Minutes went by as I walked forward slowly. The staircase seemed to grow farther away the more I walked. The vastness of the valley was too large. I stopped by a large rock and leaned on it. I was out of breath, my body still hadn't healed properly from all the fighting. I was still weak. It felt strange to be here but somehow it also felt like I've been here before... maybe in a past life. I looked up as I heard loud grumbles from the undead. One of them turned to face towards me. It was the old man with the dangly eye. He shuffled closer towards me as multiple corpses had large swords at their sides followed him. His scraggly beard was braided and his hair matted. A huge gash in his head showed me how he died. I looked around and saw I was surrounded by the undead soldiers. They creeped closer in dashing any hope of escape. The old man stopped about 10 feet in front of me. He slowly raised his bony arm and pointed. "Your of the living, why are you here?" I gulped as I stared at him. Damn I knew something was gonna go wrong. "I come in peace, on important business. I'm a necromancer. The old man smiled showing his rotten teeth. "I don't  come in peace boy. Your gonna die right now." Another one brandished his sword from his belt. "The living isn't welcome here!" He raise his sword over his head and quickly slashed downward I barely missed the blade. He clumsily ran into another zombie. Crap I can't take them all on! I need to think of something fast. "Fine if you want to fight, fight this!" I crouched and put my hands on the molten ground. I chanted the words as the ground pulsated with energy. I felt the vibration in my hands. Come on I know your around here somewhere. I command you to fight! The ground shaked as a fissure burst from the ground. The undead backed away in fear. A brown mummified hand crawled at the opening as a scrawny undead skeleton crawled out. Its skin was plastered tight around its frame. The matted hair sat on top of his wrinkled head. The eyes were sunken back and souless. It was completely naked except for a loin cloth. The undead pirates wheezed and laugh as they saw the pathetic looking creature. "You think that little runt is gonna scare us?" "Let's kill him already!" One charged towards me and were flown back by the purple tongue that whipped out from the wrinkled creatures mouth. It grunted as its eyes glowed a bright red. "What the hell kill that ugly thing first!" They began slashing at its tongues that flew from its mouth like tentacles. Everytime they cut off the one tongue, 3 grew back. The slimy tongues wrapped around their rotten bodies and ripped their limbs apart. "Aghhhh!" I took my chance and began running towards the staircase. I pushed by the corpses and trudged on. I knew I was getting closer as the air began to get smokier. I looked back and saw limbs flying in the air. Who knew it would be that easy I chuckled as I made my way forward. I felt my foot catch on a sharp rock and a tripped and fell in pain. I turned on my back and saw the old man with the dangly eyeball raise his sword. "Time to die coward!" He swung it down as it narrowly missed my head. I turned over and managed to get up. He swung again and this time it sliced my cheek. "Ahhh!" I winced in pain and looked towards the crazy fool. He swung his sword violently as I backed away. Come on think! I'm not gonna die here. I shouted a spell as a black energy sword formed in my hands. I raised it above me as the blades connected. My arm shaked as I held him back. "Not bad boy! Managed to get yourself a sword did ya?" The blade danced in my hand as we blocked each others attacks. His attacks became more violent as mine became weaker. He began backing me into a chasm that held burning lava below. He cried loudly as he pushed me on my back with his vicious attack . I barely parried the sword. "Gutak! Come to me!" The undead man looked back and smiled. "That ugly creature can't help you now! I've been aching to kill someone! He raised his sword with a crazed looked in his eye. I looked around for my sword but it was nowhere to be found. Shit! He began to laugh like a maniac but it was cut short by a tongue that wrapped around his neck. He gasped for air as his head popped off like a cork. Blood splattered all over me as the head flew into the chasm below. His body fell to a rotten heap on the ground. I looked up in suprise and saw Gutak shuffle towards me. I breathed heavily as I got up and rubbed his matted head. "Thank you Gutak, be at peace now." Gutak began to disenagrate like sand in the wind. I blinked and he was gone. I felt the open wound on my face and my hands oozed with blood. Crap I'm still bleeding, gonna have to clean the wound. I rummaged around in the satchel Matthias gave me. At the bottom I found cloth bandages; I smiled, guess he knew somehow I was gonna get hurt again. I grabbed the fresh cloth and poured water onto it from my canteen. I patted the blood away, the cloth cool to the touch. I pulled away and saw that the bleeding stopped. I looked towards the staircase and squinted. Looks closer to me now, how about that. I began shuffling my way towards the black staircase trying not to think what would happen if I was stuck here. forever.