Chapter 17: Chapter 17 – The Necro Lord’s Tomb

Since they were going to brave a necro lord's tomb, preparations needed to be made. Namely, purchasing supplies like potions, rations, and camping equipment. According to Edina, who was possibly the most seasoned of the party, this was all standard procedure for adventurers. Even if their fourth member was level 25, they wanted to be extra careful.

Healing and mana potions were the last thing on the list to buy, so Kanae dropped by an atelier while Arenade and Edina did their own thing.

"Hello?" Kanae called, walking up to the counter.

The atelier was a cozy shop only about as wide as a hallway and ending at a counter at the very front. Potions and elixirs of varying colors lined the length of the shelves, each likely producing a different effect. 

"Cough! Cough! Haaauughhh!" Someone from behind the counter was wheezing their life away.

"A-Are you okay—"

The moment Kanae leaned over the counter to check, a young lamia woman shot up, causing him to jump in fright. She had long, red hair and wore something like a loose white coat. 

"Sorry about that… caaauugghh! Welcome to my atelier! My name is Rosaline, journeyman alchemist— haaaagghh— at your service. How may I help you?" the alchemist eagerly asked as if she wasn't choking to death.

"More like can I help you? It sounded like you were dying back here," Kanae said.

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine! Just trying out a new concoction. Note to self: dragon's gall bladder doesn't make for a good alchemy ingredient. Doesn't taste good either." She wrote furiously into a notebook.

"I'm here to buy some healing potions. How much do those usually run for?" Kanae hesitantly asked, wondering if he should have tried his luck with the other atelier on the opposite side of town.

Rosaline slithered out from the counter, revealing herself to be much longer than she appeared behind it. She easily reached the top shelves without the need for a stepladder and brought down a rack of small, corked vials filled with red liquid. "I've got plenty of those! 100 gold a pop. How much do you need?"

Kanae had no idea potions were so expensive. Between extravagant dinners and other supplies, he was down to a handful of gold coins. The party had already spent half of Will's money— though the paladin didn't have much to begin with, the charitable boy he was— and didn't want to leave him broke.

Two potions was all Kanae could afford, but this was the price to pay for safety though.

"Pouch is running light, huh?" The lamia frowned and rubbed her scaled chin.

"Yeah… Starting out as an adventurer is rough," he mused.

There was one option. Kanae could charm Rosaline and have her give as many potions as he wanted. That way, he would have enough for himself, Arenade, Edina, and Will. The risk was not knowing if the alchemist had any magical safeguards and protections, or if she herself was a high level individual.

A bulb went off in Rosaline's head. She went behind the counter and fetched three vials, each labeled X, Y, and Z. "How about this? I'll give you five healing potions for free. In exchange, I'd like for you to test my newest concoctions. Throw in a bonus alchemy belt since I see you aren't wearing one!"

"Eh? Isn't trying new potions dangerous if I'm out on a quest? What if one of them ends up hurting me?"

"At most, they might give you a tummy ache. Trust me. I'm a licensed journeyman alchemist!" Rosaline wagged the tip of her tail at him, but she noticed he was no more convinced than before in spite of the reassurance. "Okay, okay. If anything bad happens, I'll give you three more free potions of your choice when you return. That's it! I have to run a business here!"

"Alright, deal." Kanae stuck out a hand to shake her tail.

[+5 Healing Potions and 3 Mystery Potions to inventory.]

"I look forward to hearing about your results!" the lamia alchemist shouted as Kanae left.

"What an eccentric alchemist…" he muttered on his way out.

"Heeeyyyy!" Arenade came running up to him with a small wooden lock box tucked under her arm. "Be prepared to thank me, because I managed to barter 20— yes, you heard right— 20 healing potions at the cost of only 100 gold!"

The demigoddess opened the box to reveal a large number of vials tucked inside, each swishing with red and blue liquid but of thicker viscosity than the ones Kanae got. Something about them seemed fishy.

"Are you sure those are really potions? Who exactly did you buy it from?" he asked, picking one up.

[Healing Potion (?)]

There was definitely something fishy. Not wanting to get into an argument with her, Kanae figured it would be funnier to let the demigoddess find out later.

Arenade snatched the suspicion vial and stuffed it back into the box. "A little gratitude would be nice. I spent my quest earnings for the sake of the party! Unlike you, I don't have a sugar daddy paladin bankrolling my expenses."

"Don't call Will my sugar daddy!"

Edina and Will were waiting for them on the side of town that faced the forests of Turic. On the squirreling's back was a knapsack with a bedroll and lantern.

The novice necromancer waved to them, raring to go. "Let's go hit the jackpot!" 

"Hehe… I can't wait to dive into the lap of luxury after this." Arenade greedily rubbed her hands together like a cartoon villain.

All Kanae could utter was a sigh and hope that nothing went awry.

They followed Edina's lead and ventured deep into the forests until their legs began to give out. Dire beasts proved to be no problem for them thanks to Will's presence. However, that might soon change when they reach the Necro Lord's tomb.

"Here we are," Edina said.

Arenade and Kanae glanced around but found no such landmarks to their destination. The squirreling pushed aside a layer of dead leaves, revealing man-made steps of cut stone leading into pitch darkness.

"How do you know this is a necro lord's tomb and not someone's crypt?" Kanae scratched his horns.

Edina brushed away more leaves until she found an etching in the stone that read 'Necro Lord Tomb #2'.

He threw Arenade a judging look.

"I don't question Charron's naming conventions. He clearly didn't inherit our parents' intellect," she remarked snidely.

"I'm pretty sure neither of you did…" Kanae rolled his eyes.

"Hurry up!" Edina shouted over her shoulders, already several steps into the tomb with the lit lantern in hand.

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The party descended into the tomb with Will in the lead in case of monster attacks. The wide corridor had many branching paths, some of which were doors to rooms with sparse furniture painted over with a layer of dust. Moss and vines crept up the side of stone walls, water occasionally dripped from the ceiling, and a funky smell of rot permeated the air.

"By the Supreme One's hairy ass, this place gives me the creeps." Arenade shuddered.

"You're telling me," Kanae murmured, almost fearful of waking anything up. "Even more unsettling is the strange squeaking sound that's echoing all around us."

"Ooh… S-Sorry, that's m-me…" Edina said through chattering teeth.

"Blessed Blade!" Will unsheathed his sword and raised it high. The steel illuminated with a golden glow, casting a more intense light than the torches and lanterns in their hands. He glanced over his shoulder to Kanae in particular and winked. "Don't worry, I'll protect you with my life."

Kanae couldn't shake the feeling of unease despite having the paladin with them

"Where in the hells are we?" Arenade asked. "I thought you had this place mapped out or something."

The squirreling shook her head. "I haven't been this far down before… After I got the map, I came to check it out but was too scared to go down any further—"

Doors suddenly began opening around them, and humanoid skeletons wobbled out, wielding all sorts of weaponry.

Arenade hid behind Kanae's back and clutched his cloak. "D-D-Do something! Order your charmed paladin boyfriend to fight them!"

"Will, can you handle this?" Kanae asked.

"Leave it to me!" The paladin charged head first into battle without fear.

Skeletal monsters easily fell to his glowing sword. Anything that got past him in an attempt to get to the others, he casted divine magic to smite them. Most of their aggressors were reduced to dust or a pile of bones.

"Huh. I didn't get much experience from them. They must not be very high level," Edina said, checking her character sheet.

Summoned Dead Lvl. 20
STR	A	A dungeon monster that was forcibly raised from the dead. Although it is very slow and lacks intelligence, they can pack a punch
DEX	F
INT	--

 

"Summoned monsters don't give experience," Will explained. "But we at least know there is a much higher level summoner within the tomb."

The party collectively gulped.

They proceeded to clear their way through the dungeon but had little luck in locating any treasures. The deeper they went, the higher level the summoned monsters became.

"Hahh… Hahh… I feel like… we've been fighting non-stop." Arenade gasped for air. She raised a mana potion to her lips, but then decided against drinking it now.

"Hey, guys! Look at this! I wonder what happened here?" Edina was looking into a jail cell in which an orc-sized skeleton sat against the wall, embracing a smaller skeleton.

With Arenade's Plant Growth spell, they managed to pry open the iron bars. 

"Looks like an orc and human judging by their skeletal structure. Adventurers that bit the dust, and the same will happen to us if we aren't careful," Arenade said.

"It appears that they died in each other's arms." Will stepped inside and knelt down on one knee to say a prayer.

"No use letting them go to waste. Minor Raise Dead!" Edina casted her spell to animate the two skeletons. However, as soon as they came to life, their hips started gyrating against each other in a symphony of clattering bones, threatening to break apart before a fight. "W-What's going on? Stop it, you two!"

Kanae quickly noticed, given that a woman's dress was ripped up around the floor and by their movements, that the two were probably screwing like animals until their last breath. He saluted them.

Once the skeletons were separated, the larger one picked up a discarded two-handed axe to wield. The other one had no weapon, but the boney hands ignited with magic.

Everyone's stomach rumbled at the same time.

"We've been fighting for a while. Maybe we should find a room to hole up in and rest up?" Kanae suggested.

They broke into a room at random to make camp in. It appeared to be a study, with a desk and bookshelves that contained more spiderwebs than books. Edina had her skeletons stand guard outside while the party broke down furniture to use as firewood.

Will fidgeted in his seat and hadn't touched his rations at all.

"Uhm… Kanae… would it be too much to ask for…?" the paladin stammered.

It seemed that despite being under the effects of Charm, Will couldn't hold back from wanting more sex. He was still subconsciously resisting the spell, unlike the guild receptionist Sara who had no level and was unable to mentally fight back. The worst thing that could happen is if the paladin broke the charm in the middle of their dungeon-diving. Best to placate him now just in case.

"What?" Arenade flicked her eyes between the two of them. "Oh, gross. Don't tell me you guys are planning to fuck?"

"Don't worry, Arenade. I'm going to make you sit by and watch like a good voyeur— Charm!" Kanae instantly put her under his control.

Surprised by his actions, Edina backed away with her bowl in hand. "Y-You're not planning to charm me, too, are you?"

"That depends. Do you want to join us instead?" Kanae placed a finger to his lips.

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