As soon as Furin, Sheira, and a few of the others had left the crypt, the rest of the hobos and freed slaves began to shift the main burial chamber around, pulling down coffins from the wall of burial nooks and stacking them against the chamber door.

Though it decimated much of the work the hobos had done, the blockade quickly grew into a wall of stone that would prove difficult for Sykes’ crew to breach. Unless he had an army. Or maybe a really big troll.

Cork and a few others formed a lesser blockade in the corridors themselves. There was less to work with, but between shards of stone coffins and sarcophagi, they managed to restrict the passage so that only one or two could pass at a time in a couple key places.

Their last stand—if it came to it—would come at the fork in the crypt, where it split off to either the main burial hall, or to the inner sanctum where Angus had held his Fulcra ceremony. This was also where the core of the crypt was stored.

The Crypt Keeper led Gunnar and Lex past Angus’s stage and across the chamber, which had become a dwelling place for the hobos, and now the freed slaves as well.

They reached a nondescript door partway down a narrow hall, and the sorceress stopped.

“Wait here,” she said. “I’ll need to make some preparations.”

The door closed behind her, leaving Gunnar and Lex alone in the corridor. Gunnar glanced at her, and she smiled softly.

He had been waiting for this moment since he’d returned to the game, but now, he did not know what to say.

She held his gaze, but appeared to be completely unfazed by his presence. Which seemed to suggest that she felt nothing off about their meeting, and he was beginning to wonder whether she was just an NPC, and maybe all this was entirely in his own damn head.

“You’re staring,” she whispered. “Haven’t you met a dawn elf before?”

Gunnar blushed. “Er, sorry, you just… look like someone I know... you know, IRL.”

Lex looked confused. “I—R—”

Okay, NPC then… and you’re officially a dumbass.

“Sorry, forget about it.”

“You’re a strange one,” Lex said. “But I am grateful for your help. All of us are. We were worried you died when you didn’t show up after we left the ship.”

Okay, yeah, she doesn’t even know what respawns are…

“If we make it out of this alive,” Lex went on, “we’ll do whatever we…”

As she was speaking, a notification popped up in his HUD that sent his hart racing.

[You have received a DM request from Lex. Do you wish to accept? Yes / No]

Gunnar stared at her again.

She kept talking about how much she loved this crypt, and how they were glad to fight for a place they might one day call their own.

All the while, the notification flashed in his vision like a warning beacon.

Gunnar took a deep breath, then accepted.

Lex: Look, you’re not crazy, but you gotta keep it together, man.

Gunnar’s hands were shaking.

Lex: Far as anyone knows, I’m just an NPC.

Gunnar: But you’re… not…

Lex: Obviously.

Gunnar: What the hell is going on? Are you who I think you are?

Lex: I don’t have time to explain. She’s coming back. And they’re watching.

Gunnar: Who?

The dawn elf didn’t answer, but Gunnar could guess. The Suits and Ties. Or the focus groups. Maybe the world. Nymoria had said this would be streaming all over as part of their build up to the launch.

But this confirmed one thing.

This was not supposed to be happening. And he needed to tread very carefully until he figured out why.

Was it possible this was really the girl he’d supposedly killed? Did that mean he’d been framed somehow?

The Crypt Keeper opened the door and ushered them inside.

The dark room was lit by no torches or lanterns. It glowed with a soft sapphire hue coming from the edges of the chamber. The Crypt Keeper closed the door behind them, and Gunnar’s vision adjusted.

The greatest glow originated from a large blue globe across the room, though the room was lined with shelves that were covered with more identical but smaller blue orbs. As they neared, Gunnar realized that this was some sort of storeroom for the soul gems that Angus had used to create his reanimated Fulcra.

And that globe must be a very powerful soul gem of some kind.

It was contained inside a seven foot tall skeleton fixed in a standing position upon a small dais. Its skull was bedecked with a thorny-looking silver crown. Its shoulders were draped in a dark royal robe, and a scepter had been propped in its outstretched hand.

“Who was that?” Gunnar whispered, gazing up at the tall remains.

“WAS?!”

The skull turned toward him and two smaller gems suddenly glowed with a fierce red light where its eyes should have been.

Gunnar nearly shat himself as he staggered back.

Lex gripped his arm, steadying him. Then, immediately dropped to one knee.

The skeleton stepped forward, its red gems glowering, and it pointed the scepter directly at Gunnar.

“You think me a relic, boy?” The skeleton’s voice was a booming thunder that echoed around the chamber, so that it seemed to come from all directions.

Gunnar’s heart raced. He tried hitting it with Scan.

[Your Perception is not high enough to Scan such a high-level being!]

But that was information enough in itself.

“I am sorry I’ve offended you,” Gunnar said, dropping to a knee beside Lex, as the skeleton loomed over them. “But you are a skeleton. And you weren’t moving. Which is how most dead skeletons behave in my experience.”

“I could say the same thing about your own shell,” the creature said. “But you would call it sleep.”

“Were you sleeping then?”

“Of course not! I’m dead!”

Gunnar chuckled, which was apparently the appropriate response because the skeleton leaned back and rocked the chamber with a rumble of laughter.

It pointed to the Crypt Keeper. “You were right, I do like this one.”

The Crypt Keeper smiled. “I am pleased to hear it, my lord.”

“I take it you are no mere Fulcra,” Gunnar said.

The creature’s red eyes flared for a moment. “Fulcra are the half-baked sorcery of a street corner magician. I am a First One. I am my own power.”

“First One?” Gunnar asked. “Like the founder of Thailen or something?”

Lex touched his arm. “The First Ones are the original inhabitants of this realm. They ruled this world long before elves or men.”

That sounded pretty badass, and Gunnar was impressed once again by the level of lore detail in this world.

“Like gods?”

“You’re new around here, aren’t you?” the First One said.

Besides Lex—who was supposed to be an NPC but apparently wasn’t—Gunnar was pretty sure he was the only actual player here, and figured he should just play along. “I grew up on an island. Very secluded.”

“Of course!” the First One boomed. “You’re a gods-damned Maldan!”

“I see the bigoted ideals of Thailen didn’t originate with the empire,” Gunnar muttered.

“Aha! Come on, lighten up,” the First One said. “I mean, look at you. Backwoods island bumpkin who doesn’t even know our basic history. You’re a walking stereotype! But you called me a WAS, so I think we’re even.”

Gunnar shrugged. “Fair enough.”

“I hear there is another threat to our home,” the First One said.

Lex, Gunnar, and the Crypt Keeper all nodded.

“And we don’t have much time,” Gunnar said.

“Aha! You Breathers always think that. But you have no idea how much time there truly is.”

The Crypt Keeper grimaced. “I’m afraid this one may be worse than the last, Silas.”

“Worse than that screecher?” the First One said.

“Angus had no real ambition,” said the Crypt Keeper. “And even he defiled this place for months. I shudder to think what might happen if you fell into more conniving and capable hands.”

The First One nodded, his skull bobbing on his neck. “We must move then.”

“That is why I’ve brought the dawn elf.”

“Yes, they’ve long been in tune with the management of souls,” the First One said.

“We’ll need her magic if we’re going to do this quickly,” the Crypt Keeper added with a nod.

“And what about me?” Gunnar asked. He had a decent Mana pool, but he’d only learned a couple basic spells. He would have to change that soon. But first, he had to deal with Kohli and Sykes.

“I wanted you to see what it is we are protecting,” the Crypt Keeper said. “This place is powered by the souls that reside here. And Silas is the greatest one of all. The Soul of a First One is a treasure someone like Sykes could only dream of. Whatever happens, we cannot let them enter this room. If Sykes were to learn what we’re truly protecting, he would stop at nothing to take it.”

Gunnar nodded. “I’ll give myself up before I’ll let that happen.”

The Crypt Keeper gripped his hand. “Your plan must work.”

Lex smiled. “Be safe.”

Gunnar took one last glance around the room. The shelves must have contained hundreds of less powerful soul gems. Lex and the Crypt Keeper both formed spells between their palms and small lines of magic began to spread between the First One and the gems, forming a link that made Gunnar think of the laser detectors that guarded valuable pieces of art. Though in this case, he was pretty sure the beams were linking the souls.

“We will need an hour to completely untether the souls from this place,” the Crypt Keeper said. “When that happens, whoever is here will be transported with us. They will either need to be removed from the crypt beforehand, or killed before they can escape through the new entrances.”

Quest Update - Salvation of Souls

Description: You must defend this chamber at all costs, or the crypt and all these souls will fall into the hands of lowlifes. This is your last stand. This is your Alamo, minus the utter defeat… well, the jury’s still out on that one.

Objective: Defend the inner sanctum of the crypt for sixty minutes, while your allies untether the crypt’s souls

Reward: A future for your sort-of faction, a chance at actually forming said faction, and a chance to build trust among your new allies, which just might give you a chance to learn some real magic from a real sorceress

A timer immediately flashed at the top of his vision, counting down from 60:00. Lex and the Crypt Keeper focused all their attention on their casting.

Gunnar had been feeling confident, but as he left them to their spell, he felt a hollow ache in his gut.

But he was quickly pulled away from that thought as a DM notification appeared.

Em: Your boy Sykes is causing quite a stir in the city. What’s going on?