Chapter 371

The cold wind howled in the mountain heights. Ulmir's Rest was a fortified city built under a mountain that was part of the Mountains of Glory formation. A lonely draugr was making his way up the mountain. Usually, players wouldn't go this high up for the risk of asphyxiation or freezing.

The use of potions to fight the cold would come out pricey and would be for no defined reason if done. The party that Dave had just wiped out had a leader that was stubborn enough and rich enough to afford to spend the potions on himself to see what lays at the top of the mountain.

Dave on the other hand, as an undead had no need for such tools. His passive ability ignored the cold and he had no need for breath. He was perfectly suited to go up the mountain without caring for such discomforts.

Dave circled around the mountain, following the ledge that spanned around it with steady and firm steps. He feared heights, but he kept his eyes focused on the way until he arrived at the end of the ledge. Literally, the end. There was no dungeon, no hidden cave no nothing. The ledge ended, and what lay under it were thick clouds. Dave didn't have the slightest doubt that if he took another step, he would find death awaiting him with open arms.

"This is strange, why did that guy take them all the way here for nothing?" Dave murmured to himself.

He looked back, doubting if he had taken a wrong turn, but the way was linear so he immediately shook away the idea.

There were no caves or cracks in the mountain along the way so it didn't seem like there was a hidden dungeon entrance that he missed somewhere.

Another though came to his mind, this one a bit more believable. Perhaps the party leader was intending on doing some PK, using the heights to his advantage. Then again, that was improbable. The party seemed to know the leader well enough to trust him to come to this place.

Dave was missing something important. He crouched down and gazed at the clouds under the ledge. He couldn't see anything beneath them. The whistling wind gave him a shudder and he stood back up.

"Something's wrong," Dave thought to himself. He then waved a hand summoning eight spectral skulls.

He pressed his hands toward the clouds under the ledge, leading the floating skulls down. When the skulls disappeared into the clouds, Dave snapped his fingers. Eight thundering explosions boomed in succession from within the clouds.

The shockwaves busted the clouds away, for only a few seconds revealing a large stone platform underneath them. On the other side of the platform was a large cave entrance.

"So it was hidden by the clouds," Dave smiled.

The platform was a dozen feet under the ledge. The amount of clouds present, made it disappear from view.

It only took a few seconds for the clouds to thicken again and hide the platform from view.

"Alright," Dave said to himself and hopped from the ledge and into the clouds.

After a moment's pause, Dave's feet dug into the thin layer of snow covering the stone platform.

Dave's vision was covered by thick fog. He couldn't see a foot in front of him even with his Undead enhanced vision. The clouds were just that thick.

Dave activated [Aura], a swirl of infernal heat emanated from his body and burst outwards. The clouds were chased away, most turned to water and the rest vaporized from the heat Dave was releasing.

The cave in the wall was right next to Dave, and he walked through it. When he got inside, he disabled [Aura], there was no fog inside the cave.

Dave's vision allowed him to see the inside of the cave. Looking up, there was a large assortment of sharp pointy stalactites pointing down. While the depth of the cave was too dark for even Dave's vision to see through.

Dave walked steadily down the cave. The wind howled through the tunnel, imitating the sound of roaring beasts. A sensation that would make anyone's hair stand on end.

After a while of walking, Dave felt that the cave was inclined downward. He was going deeper the more he went inside. And after a long time, walking Dave noticed something on a wall.

He stopped to investigate. It looked like a fossil of something small and frozen. Dave pulled out his sword and scratched the ice on it. After a few scratches Dave finally recognized what he was seeing. It was a fish, something that looked like a piranha with a horn?

Dave was puzzled for a moment, what would a fish be doing all the way up in this mountain? Could it be someone's food? But the fish was perfectly preserved.

He ignored it and continued walking down the cave. Soon, he saw more of these fishes on the wall. It was a strange sight to Dave, he couldn't explain or understand what these fish were doing all the way up here. Then he saw something a bit different than a fish.

It was a frozen man. He had long ears, and a pale white skin. He didn't have a nose but on the side of his neck were gills. His hair was long and clothed together like algae. While between his fingers was a light tissue like membrane.

There was a large hole in the man's chest. A rusted sword was inserted into it. And there was a broken trident laying next to his feet.

The man, or, fish-man? Had a look of horror on his face and was forever frozen in ice.

Dave thought for a second then pulled out his Sworn Stalwart Gauntlets. He wore them and pressed both his hands on the ice sculpture. The radiating heat from the gauntlets made the ice sizzle and turn to water and vapor in moments.

After a few seconds, the fish-man corps fell limply on the ground like it had no bones.

The long period of frigidity had worn down the body's cells and made it like rubber.

But that didn't bother Dave. H touched the corpse and chanted, "Rise Undead!"

A black surge of deathly aura poured into the corpse. Dave didn't even have the time to think if the spell would work or not, as the corpse shuddered in motion.

***

You have successfully revived a named undead!

Azusa Sea-Breeze

Level 350

As a named undead, Azusa Sea-Breeze will be added to your undead ranks without the need for you to supply him with mana to keep him in functional condition.

***

the fish-man looked at Dave wearily. With undeath cast upon him, the fish-man no longer moved like a wobbly piece of slime shaped to a humanoid. But his bones became stronger and his skin tightened. But the hold in his chest was still there.

The fishman looked at Dave with weariness at first, then recognition dawned upon him. He knelt down and bowed his head.

"Get up Azusa," Dave said.

The fish-man complied and got up.

"Tell me, what are you, and who are you, and what are you doing here?" Dave spoke.

"I shall answer all my lord's questions, if you allow me to speak a plea first," said the fish-man.

"Talk," Dave said.

The man looked around him and down at the rusted sword protruding from his chest.

"By the amount of rust on this weapon, I must have died for ages long. But that doesn't mean that it was the same for my clan." The fish-man looked back at the depth of the cave and said.

"And perhaps what we came here for is still inside this cave."

Dave tilted his head and asked, "What did you come here for?"

"The Sea-Folk's most horrifying secret. Pandora's Box." The fish-man spoke to Dave. In his voice, Dave could feel a tingling of fear, though undead fear not, how come this one is afraid?

***

You have discovered a clue about a Godly Tier item.

Pandora's Box!

Follow the clues for more information on the subject.

***

"Now this is interesting," Dave said in a smirk.