Part 8
The rotten stench of corpses rose up and hit Eadric's nostrils.
"Not again..." Gus mumbled as they neared the bottom.
More piles of elven corpses filled the room. But, these bodies were different. They looked less decayed and had clothing that was intact. None of the male elves had any clothing, but all of the females did. Some of the dresses worn by the curvy females were rather ornate. But, the most distressing difference was that there were weapons strewn all over the place.
Eadric drew [i]Blightsteel[/i] and prepared to fight. The giant sword was so heavy! Gus strung his bow and Ox readied [i]Tempest[/i]. Twinkle grabbed as many weapons as he could hold and made a beeline for the stairs.
The corpses rose and began to swarm around the companions. This time, the elves were more coordinated and deadly with the addition of ancient weaponry. Their less decayed bodies were stronger against attacks and there were more of them.
Eadric swung his sword wildly but felt himself slowing down very quickly due to fatigue. He shot a quick glance to his companions who were each holding their own. In fact, they were faring much better than Eadric. Ox whirled his giant axe in sweeping arcs while Gus unloaded a stream of arrows with deadly precision. With his attention away from his foes, Eadric didn't notice one of them sneak up behind and strike his helmet with a solid *THUD*. Luckily, the zombie didn't have a weapon, but Eadric felt the world fading to darkness as the ground rushed to meet him.
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Eadric regained consciousness thanks to the application of smelling salts curtesy of Gus.
Gus had a bloody bandage across his left shoulder and a few cuts and bruises across his face.
His cat eyes stared down at Eadric as he yelled, "You okay, Eadric? Come on, buddy, come back to reality!"
"W-what happened?" Eadric stammered.
He winced as a pounding headache thumped in the back of his head. He glanced past the concerned Gus and around the room. He saw Ox slumped against the far wall, panting and covered in zombie blood. He used [i]Tempest[/i] as a crutch. Next to him, and similarly covered in blood, was Twinkle who was carrying a dripping greatsword. They were whispering to one another.
It was [i]Blightsteel[/i]! That snake was carrying Eadric's family sword!
Eadric groaned and got into a sitting position.
"Give me back my fucking sword!" He screamed.
Ox raised his gaze and scoffed at Eadric, "You know, T grabbed your precious sword when you decided to take a nap during battle. How could you let these pathetic, dead elves get the best of you?"
Eadric struggled to his feet and lied, "I was trying to watch your back during the fight and one of those fuckers got a lucky shot on me. Why are you talking to 'T' anyway? He's elf trash just like these corpses are!"
Ox tapped [i]Tempest[/i] on the stone and looked over to Twinkle before responding, "He looks pretty damn human to me, Eadric. I don't know what this place is doing to the two of you, but I reckon he's a better fighter than you are right now."
Eadric's body started to shake in his way too oversized armor, "Why you- why you- YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'M THE LEADER OF THIS PARTY. ME. EADRIC STRONGFELLOW!"
Eadric panted and stared Ox down. Ox took the sword out of Twinkle's hands and brought it over to Eadric. He looked down at Eadric who noticed he had gotten EVEN SMALLER. Ox handed the sword down to Eadric.
"For now." Ox added ominously.
Eadric received [i]Blightsteel[/i] and let it clang onto the floor. He could barely lift it now! Ox noticed his difficulty and sighed in disgust.
Gus tried to break the tension by offering, "Hey guys- uh, at least we all made it out in one piece! Let's press on and hopefully find the end of this dark hole before the day is out. I'm sure i'm not the only one that wants to get out of here..."
Twinkle kept his head down. His stubble had grown darker and thicker. He began rifling through the piles of corpses with much less solemnity than last time. Eadric took a few seconds to take stock of his body. He still had itchy, sweaty hairs poking all over. He knew he looked ridiculous in his giant armor, but he still didn't care! He could hardly lift his sword and his ears were becoming sore in a helmet that was not made to contain them, but he was determined to persevere!
Eadric looked down at the piles of decaying corpses all around him. He felt kind of bad for them. How long had they been waiting here? What kind of dark magic kept them bound to this world?
He shook his head, trying to push the thoughts away. They weren't sympathetic in the slightest. They were elven TRASH! He was not like them in the least bit. His...current features were merely a temporary setback.
The party stood together, by the staircase, in silence until Twinkle was finished with his work. Eadric noticed Twinkle was now carrying a sword he had taken from one of the fallen zombies. He was going to raise the issue but decided not to. It was probably a good idea for him to be armed if the enemies were going to continue getting more dangerous. Eadric knew elves weren't supposed to be armed, but he could make an exception just this once.
They descended the staircase.
Eadric regained consciousness thanks to the application of smelling salts courtesy of Gus.
Gus had a bloody bandage across his left shoulder and a few cuts and bruises across his face.
His cat eyes stared down at Eadric as he yelled, "You okay, Eadric? Come on, buddy, come back to reality!"
"W-what happened?" Eadric stammered.
He winced as a pounding headache thumped in the back of his head. He glanced past the concerned Gus and around the room. He saw Ox slumped against the far wall, panting and covered in zombie blood. He used Tempest as a crutch. Next to him, and similarly covered in blood, was Twinkle, who was carrying a dripping greatsword. They were whispering to one another.
It was Blightsteel! That snake was carrying Eadric's family sword!
Eadric groaned and got into a sitting position.
"Give me back my fucking sword!" He screamed.
Ox raised his gaze and scoffed at Eadric, "You know, T grabbed your precious sword when you decided to take a nap during battle. How could you let these pathetic, dead elves get the best of you?"
Eadric struggled to his feet and lied, "I was trying to watch your back during the fight and one of those fuckers got a lucky shot on me. Why are you talking to 'T' anyway? He's elf trash just like these corpses are!"
Ox tapped Tempest on the stone and looked over to Twinkle before responding, "He looks pretty damn human to me, Eadric. I don't know what this place is doing to the two of you, but I reckon he's a better fighter than you are right now."
Eadric's body started to shake in his way too oversized armor. "Why you—why you—YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'M THE LEADER OF THIS PARTY. ME. EADRIC STRONGFELLOW!"
Eadric panted and stared Ox down. Ox took the sword out of Twinkle's hands and brought it over to Eadric. He looked down at Eadric, who noticed he had gotten EVEN SMALLER. Ox handed the sword down to Eadric.
"For now," Ox added ominously.
Eadric received Blightsteel and let it clang onto the floor. He could barely lift it now! Ox noticed his difficulty and sighed in disgust.
Gus tried to break the tension by offering, "Hey guys—uh, at least we all made it out in one piece! Let's press on and hopefully find the end of this dark hole before the day is out. I'm sure I'm not the only one that wants to get out of here..."
Twinkle kept his head down. His stubble had grown darker and thicker. He began rifling through the piles of corpses with much less solemnity than last time. Eadric took a few seconds to take stock of his body. He still had itchy, sweaty hairs poking all over. He knew he looked ridiculous in his giant armor, but he still didn't care! He could hardly lift his sword, and his ears were becoming sore in a helmet that was not made to contain them, but he was determined to persevere!
Eadric looked down at the piles of decaying corpses all around him. He felt kind of bad for them. How long had they been waiting here? What kind of dark magic kept them bound to this world?
He shook his head, trying to push the thoughts away. They weren't sympathetic in the slightest. They were elven TRASH! He was not like them in the least bit. His...current features were merely a temporary setback.
The party stood together, by the staircase, in silence until Twinkle was finished with his work. Eadric noticed Twinkle was now carrying a sword he had taken from one of the fallen zombies. He was going to raise the issue but decided not to. It was probably a good idea for him to be armed if the enemies were going to continue getting more dangerous. Eadric knew elves weren't supposed to be armed, but he could make an exception just this once.
They descended the staircase.
