“The treatment of undead varied from nation to nation. Mindless undead were used as combat fodder in armies or for free labor on farms. Intelligent undead were feared and reviled. Some nations banned the presence of undead altogether and actively hunted those with the ability to create them.”

  From “Unequal Undeath – The Living and the Living Dead”

  Year 1, Month 2, Day 10, 05:00

  Torgon put down the crafting supplies and fired a message back to Ovarrix, “How soon do you need us there and who exactly do you need?”

  Ovarrix’s response came back immediately, “I need you here as soon as you can get here. I’ve messaged Allestor and he’s on the way. Hyperia and Dusty will meet you outside the crafting hall. Grab Stabitha. She needs to be here.”

  Torgon dipped into the specialist alchemy room and waited for Stabitha to finish her current brew before speaking. “Stabitha, we have a situation developing. No details yet but Ovarrix needs you there along with us. Can you spare a few hours from the lab?”

  She rolled her eyes and got up from her cauldron. “This better be worth my time. I’m behind on potion making ever since I started studying up on necromancy in the library.”

  He raised his hands, “If Ovarrix is calling us all out there and asking for you specifically it’s going to be about alchemy or necromancy.”

  She pulled on her cloak and grabbed her staff. “Fine. Let’s go.”

  The four of them teleported quickly into Miller’s Crossing and then into Camp Alpha. They snuck out using stealth and hurriedly traveled to where Ovarrix wanted them to go. The darkness helped conceal them as they left behind the few players still around the outpost that early in the morning.

  The group journeyed through the Broken Hills for nearly an hour before arriving at a hastily created camp. Ovarrix beckoned them inside and spoke, “We found something that you’ll all be interested in.” He gestured to a yawning cave entrance concealed underneath a slab of rock that had toppled over.

  “Our scouts found this little cave and got a surprise when they approached it.” Ovarrix gestured the group forward. When they reached the entrance, a message popped up in their vision.

  “Attention! This is a secret instance, Repository of the Forgotten Empire. This instance will only appear once in this location. Requirements: Party of 5 players, all level 12+. One member must have knowledge of creating undead. Pain Tolerance must be set at 100%.”

  Torgon whistled, “I can see why you called us out here now.”

  Ovarrix nodded, “I’ll keep managing the forces out here, and Stabitha will take my spot in our usual party.”

  They took a few minutes for last minute dungeon preparation. They passed potions around to make sure everyone had enough healing and mana potions. Due to the nature of the instance, they were forced to go in blind and there would be no second chances.

  Disorientation gripped the party as they were forcibly teleported to a different location. Time and space ripped apart, and they fell to the floor of an unfamiliar chamber. Shelves of books stretched around them, untouched and preserved from the ravages of time. A single figure stood in the center of the room, regarding them with curiosity.

  A gleaming white bone skull eyed the group. The skeletal creature stood nearly ten feet tall and wore robes of midnight black stitched with symbols of the celestial and arcane. “Greetings to you all. I am Regulus, the last Chronicler of the Morzeshi Empire.” He waved his hands and comfortable chair appeared before each member of the party. “Please, have a seat. We have much to discuss.”

  Tendrils of magic wrapped around Torgon and pulled him upright. He was guided into the chair and sank deep into the cushions. He thought to himself, “If this thing is going to kill me, at least I got to sit in the best chair I’ve ever had first.”

  The skeletal figure turned to Torgon and the briefest of grins crossed its face. Purplish fire filled the empty sockets of the skull as it considered them. “You are the first guests I have had in millenia. It would be remiss of me to not at least share some tea with you.” Crystalline cups and saucers floated before each of them. Aromatic tea filled the cups and they sipped cautiously. Torgon closed his eyes in pleasure as the warm tea suffused his body, banishing all fatigue.

  The ancient chronicler eased himself into a larger chair and spoke, “Now that you are comfortable, I will tell you a tale of sadness and woe and then I must task you with completing three challenges.”

  Ghostly images rippled in the air behind the chronicler as he began to weave his tale. “The Morzeshi Empire lasted for over a thousand years. It spread across much of the world and shone brightly as a beacon of knowledge and power.” Vast structures appeared in the images. Towering buildings rose from streets, teaming with thousands of citizens from a variety of humanoid races.

  “A darkness appeared. A plague that stalked everyone. The plague was magical in nature, and we were unable to halt its spread. The rot consumed the empire and madness consumed the emperor. A great magical working was created to transform every creature inside the empire from the living into the undead.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “The emperor believed that only in the purity of death could the plague be halted. He was only partly right. The plague infected not only the body but also the soul. The only way to remove the taint once it entered a person was to cleanse them of flesh and soul entirely. The vast citizenry was reduced to mindless undead under the control of the emperor and his nobles.”

  “The final collapse occurred when agents of our unknown enemy struck at the palace. The emperor was infected with the plague, and it spread quickly to the nobles. They scourged their flesh but kept their souls and intelligence attached to their bodies. A malevolent hatred spread among them. They wanted revenge on all other living beings.

  “A few of us managed to escape infection and we found the hidden workings of our unknown enemy. We shattered them and the resulting conflagration destroyed the empire. One of the ancient nobles resides in the center of the ruin in this land, seeking to unleash the plague and waves of undeath across the land once more. I will give you the task of stopping him, if you can prove yourself worthy to me.”

  Torgon spoke hesitantly, “You mentioned three challenges?”

  The chronicler rose to his feet and nodded. “Yes, you must prove to me the mastery of the three. Knowledge, Creation and Destruction.” Three portals appeared behind him, white, grey and black energy swirled in them respectively. “Choose your first challenge.”

  Dusty rose to her feet eagerly, “Let’s do the knowledge challenge first. It’s the grey one.”

  Hyperia looked at Torgon and shrugged, following Dusty into the portal. Allestor and Stabitha entered a couple of seconds later and they all found themselves in the middle of a room. They were on the floor and around them a ring of ghostly figures sat on a balcony.

  A ghost approached the lectern at the front of the room and spoke in a dry tone, “Tell me, what are the three key ingredients for a potion of miasma resistance?”

  Stabitha stepped forward confidently and answered, “Sage, Lavender and Hawthorn.”

  The entire room echoed, “Correct.”

  The next ghost drifted forward and asked their question. “What magical spheres are best used to combat the undead?”

  Dusty spoke in an excited tone, “The spheres of Light, Soul and Fire are the best for cleansing undead.”

  The room echoed again, “Correct.”

  Allestor leaned over to Torgon, “I guess we might not be a lot of help here.”

  Hyperia giggled, “That’s what you get for not studying.”

  Another ghost approached the lectern. “If you are faced with mindless undead in an area that is bereft of magical energy, what is the best approach for dealing with them?”

  Allestor confidently said, “Smash them into little pieces.”

  The ghost in the room tittered in what sounded like amusement before saying, “Correct.”

  Allestor looked at Hyperia and said, “No studying.”

  A ghost wearing flowing robes moved forward and said, “Final question. There are spells here that would allow you to subjugate and control thinking undead. Do you wish for us to provide them to you?”

  Torgon looked at the others and said, “No, we do not want any spell that can be used to control any thinking being living or dead.”

  The room flared brilliantly and they found themselves back in the chamber with the Chronicler. The grey portal winked out of existence leaving only the barest of whisper of the word “correct” in the air.

  Torgon gestured at the white portal, “Let’s do creation next. I want to make Allestor wait before he gets to go to town on whatever we have to destroy.” The group laughed as they made their way confidently into the trial of creation.

  The five of them appeared in a room filled with tables. On top of the tables were various weapons including bows, spears, staves and swords. A vast pile of bones dominated one side of the room. A system message appeared in their view.

  “You have been awarded the Create Undead Skill. You have 9 of 5 universal skill slots filled. You must clear 4 slots in order to free one up.”

  “You have been awarded the blueprint Level 10 Basic Skeletal Swordsman.”

  “You have been awarded the blueprint Level 10 Basic Skeletal Spearman.”

  “You have been awarded the blueprint Level 10 Basic Skeletal Archer.”

  “You have been awarded the blueprint Level 10 Basic Skeletal Mage”

  The chronicler’s voice sounded, “You have 12 hours to create as many undead as you can. You must create one of each type. At the end of the time, you will be judged on how many you have created. You have passed a hidden test. The undead you create will accompany you for the trial of destruction.”

  Stabitha rubbed her hands together. “It gave me boosts of five levels to each blueprint since I had them already. How do we want to divide this up?”

  Torgon rubbed his chin, “Allestor, you make swordsmen, Hyperia, you focus on mages, Dusty, you do the Spearmen. I’ll make archers and Stabitha, just make whatever you want.”

  She nodded, “I’ll make a couple of the melee skeletons to start with then swap to mages.”

  Torgon moved to a table piled with bows and looked at the requirements for the blueprint. Each attempt to create a skeleton took a base time of three hours. The base chance of success was just 30%. Torgon’s chances of success with the gauntlet sat at 69%. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking “Nice.”

  Each attempt at creating an archer would take him just over an hour and twenty minutes with his permanent boost. He quickly went to work, attaching bones and infusing magical energy into the form. His first attempt succeeded and he quickly made another. Dusty succeeded in her spearman while Allestor failed. Stabitha finished a swordsman and Hyperia succeeded with the mage.

  The group now had at least one of each minion and they buckled down to try and finish as many as they could in the allotted period. Torgon managed to make 7 archers, one of which upgraded to the common rank from the gauntlet of creation’s special ability. Dusty made 2 spearmen, Allestor made a single swordsman and Hyperia managed 2 mages. Stabitha, with the benefit of the book and her prior knowledge of creating undead finished off 2 swordsmen, a spearman and a mage.

  The room dissolved and they emerged back inside the central chamber. Only the black portal remained. Regulus clapped his skeletal hands together, “Well Done! You exceeded both the requirements of the trial and my expectations. The minions should give you an advantage when you enter the last trial.”

  He continued, “If you succeed, you will be granted knowledge of my time, materials for research and many other rewards. If you fail, you can console yourselves with the knowledge that you acquired already. I am glad that your group has made it this far.”

  The skeletal figure sighed, a curious sound from a creature with no flesh, and addressed them all one more time. “I have felt emotions again for the first time in centuries. I do hope that you succeed. I would like to be free of this burden and able to explore the world once more.”

  Stabitha reached out to pat the towering undead. “We won’t let you down. I even have a lot of cool things to show you when we finish the challenge.”

  Torgon and the others readied their weapons and arranged their skeletal minions in their formation. Without a word, they marched into the black portal.