Cloudkill smelled somewhat horrible, and there was no riddance of it.

  Guelder had never heard Pangur sneeze more than twenty times in a row. Sadly, her elven form didn't have the same way to ease the burden on her olfactory nerves. Blowing her nose repeatedly helped somewhat, but she expected a serious deterioration of her sense of smell for the day. Of course, that was still a minor inconvenience compared to a genuine Cloudkill poisoning, something the team had avoided easily by applying their usual protective spell.

  After fighting their way out of the rolling cloud of gas, through a number of traps (skilfully disarmed by Linzi and then smashed into oblivion by Harrim, for good measure) and a minor army of various zombie cyclopes, a steep descent led them through a partially flooded burrow, inhabited by a family of hydras. Just like in good old Bloom times. Amiri did an excellent job here, wielding a handaxe borrowed from Hazel and an everburning torch, but Guelder found herself missing Tristian and his fire spells. She owed him an apology when this was over. The faint but steady remorse over her impulsive behaviour was just like that awful smell burnt into her nostrils. Not even an entire cloud of hydra breath could make it go away.

  Still, they had made decent progress, and the day was (probably) coming to an end. It was time to find a place to rest and recover.

  The team arrived in an interesting chamber, with a relief running all round the walls and a massive, locked door on the other side. At first glance, it seemed suitable to camp in. Considering the sheer height of the walls, it wouldn't be an issue to build a fire without getting suffocated by the smoke. And since the door leading forward seemed impenetrable (at least until Linzi would pick the lock), they didn't have to expect an attack from that direction. There were no sarcophagi along the wall that would belch out another group of enemies at them, nor forgotten corpses scattered on the floor, waiting to be reanimated. If Hazel's keen eyes found no traps, Guelder was ready to give permission to set up camp.

  Investigating the walls for switches or nozzles, the baroness found her attention diverted by the relief, depicting different types of fish in their natural environment. She could identify a few that were still present in the multiple rivers of the Stolen Lands. The majority of them was unknown to her, though. Those had probably perished to the last specimen during the great extinction event known as Earthfall millennia ago, which had brought about the fall of the cyclopean empire and the demise of countless other species and civilisations. Guelder didn't care much about masterpieces of ancient art seen in other tombs, mostly related to the dark worship of Charon, but this one sucked her in completely. If only she could draw properly, or make a rubbing of the relief, to preserve the memory of those extinct species for future generations...

  Meanwhile, Linzi was busy at the far end of the chamber, sitting on Amiri's shoulders, trying hard to decipher the inscription on the locked door, muttering incoherent words like 'water,' 'soul,' or 'death.'

  "Watch where you step, Crusher," said Hazel's voice somewhere behind Guelder. "That tile to the right of your left foot seems like –"

  "Which tile?" asked Amiri, shifting her weight. "Oh fuck."

  Something clicked, then squealed, then whooshed.

  Guelder finally tore her gaze away from the fish of ancient times and flattened herself against the wall, horrified and fascinated at the same time. Three cataracts of water were spilling into the chamber through hatches in the ceiling, carrying silt, underwater plants, and even living fish. However, this was not the right time to compare them with those on the relief.

  "What in the storms," muttered Hazel. "I have never realised that the Little Sellen flows right above our heads!"

  The water swirled and rushed around the adventurers' ankles, soaking their boots, running off towards the corridor they'd arrived from. As soon as it washed over its threshold, there was a creak of stone rubbing against stone, and a wall began to rise to block the entrance.

  They had to get out, and quickly, because the chamber was filling up.

  Guelder frantically tried to make sense of the situation. The water covering the flagstones was too muddy to see through to the floor and search for further switches or sinkholes to moderate the flow. A quick scan of the walls showed nothing but two gaps that would possibly swallow some of the water when it reached up there, but not enough to save them. Perhaps Linzi could pick the lock, allowing them to flee forward, into who knew what other danger. Alternatively, they could make a run for the rising wall, get back to the safety of the corridor, and plan their next step later.

  The last option seemed to make the most sense

  "Back to the corridor, over the wall!" she gave the command. "Inky, you get on my back and hold onto my fur!"

  She shapeshifted and warned Pangur with a growl to stop hunting for the fish and get the hell out instead. Once she saw him clear the top of the wall with a beautiful jump, she made her way to Linzi and Amiri in the rising water.

  Valerie grabbed Harrim by the wrist and dashed towards the entrance, as fast as their heavy armour allowed. She helped the dwarf get through first, then sat astride the top of the wall and tried to wedge a greataxe looted from a cyclops between it and the lintel of the corridor's mouth. Hazel somehow wiggled through beside her.

  Amiri gently placed Linzi on Guelder's back. The bard grabbed two handfuls of fur, already soaked with silty water. She felt heavier than Guelder had expected, but a promise was a promise. Alas, by the time she crossed the chamber with her burden, the water level was too high to pounce from. She could gather no momentum while swimming, and the wall offered no purchase to her claws, either. There was no way anymore to do the impressive jump she'd planned out in her head.

  "Watch out!"

  Valerie threw her shield down into the water. Guelder clambered on for a moment to drop her shapeshift, then jumped back into the water and lifted Linzi up, so that Valerie could help her through the wall. Also, she promised herself to stick with her habit of not carrying passengers.

  The shaft of the greataxe keeping the wall from rising was bent precariously. It would soon snap.

  "Amiri, hurry up!" yelled Valerie.

  Guelder, still in the water, turned back to see what was going on. If her conscientious fighter forgot about the precautions, hitherto observed with utmost care, that meant Amiri was in serious trouble.

  Indeed, the barbarian was standing motionless under one of the hatches, bent over, coughing, the river water and its life forms showering on her back. The span-long gap in the wall Guelder had studied previously, just below the relief, was now glowing in blue, as was the one in the opposite wall.

  Another trap, perhaps even more deadly.

  Brambles.

  Guelder set out towards Amiri, wading through the murky water that now reached up to her ribs.

  "Spots, no!"

  As she'd expected, Hazel was clambering back through the wall to follow her, and Valerie was changing position, too, ready to jump into the water. In fact, she could have used their help. There was no way she could get Amiri out of here alone.

  But then the feeling hit her square in the chest. An irresistible pull that threatened to rip her very soul out of her body and suck it into one of those glowing gaps. There was no way in hell she would allow Hazel and Valerie into that.

  "Stay back, both of you!" she yelled over the loud sloshing of the incoming water. "Until I say otherwise!"

  They might have sensed the evil force, too, as Valerie slipped off the wall on the other side, taking Hazel with her. Just in time before the greataxe snapped in two. Amiri's inert body fell forward into the water with a splash, pulled down by the weight of Ginormous on her back. The baroness struggled through to the spot where she fell, and searched around until she bumped into her body. Her hands fumbled around Amiri's neck to feel out her pulse. There was none, just cold, clammy skin. In a certain sense, that was a good thing. Guelder could go all out with what she was about to do, without worrying that she'd accidentally kill Amiri.

  A jolt of electricity coursed through her body, making her wet hair try to stand on end. For a moment, everything turned black. This was it, said a little voice at the back of Guelder's mind. Why not just let go, roll with the waves, sleep with the fish? The chamber would fill up and create a cosy little underground extension of the river, home to all kinds of waterlife. She could feed them with her body. Wouldn't that be nice?

  Guelder clenched her teeth and shook off the feeling. She was here for Amiri and, ultimately, for Maegar, neither of whom had any use for fish feed.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Reclaiming her senses by sheer willpower, she looked around and identified the source of the jolt. The river had generously delivered a sizable electric eel into the chamber, and the poor thing had given off a panic zap. That was another good thing. The more life was present in the chamber, the better. The unlucky creatures were doomed to death anyway, and Guelder intended to make their demise meaningful.

  The first and last time she'd tried this spell had been before the fall of her home grove. Back then, she'd had no idea why Master Thalion was so hellbent on preparing his charges for a fight against undead, but her time in zombie-infested Varnhold had spurred her to dig up the spellbook entry and her long buried memories about it. She should have practised diligently ever since, but alas, she was reluctant to destroy life just to become more adept at wielding a certain spell. Would she succeed regardless?

  Well, she had to. The effort to resist the pull and cling to her body was taking its toll on her. There was no time to lose.

  Her frantic mind reached out for all the life in the water, fish, crawdads, worms, plantlife, algae, microbes. She claimed it all, forcing her body to hold it for an intoxicating moment, in a density she'd never experienced before, concentrating it into pure attack power. Then she unleashed it at the glowing gaps. The rays of condensed life energy coming from her raised hands hit the devices, overloading them, until both went out with a sad hiss. After a long moment of euphoria, she pushed even the last drops of energy out of herself, until she collapsed into the water, exhausted and useless like a dry, empty pea pod.

  By the time she woke to Pangur's nose poking her face, the water was gone, the hatches in the ceiling closed. She was lying on a handful of dead fish and plants and Amiri's arm. The wall blocking the corridor was down again, and the others were filing into the chamber. With a quick glance, Harrim confirmed that Guelder would live, so he prioritised the disabled soul-sucking device. Stepping upon Valerie's knee for extra height, he smashed his fist into the gap, making it implode along with the surrounding part of the wall. He repeated the process on the other side. The baroness couldn't help but feel a little smug. Even if they perished in here, Vordakai would have serious trouble restoring his hellish devices, unmade by the inexorable hand of Groetus.

  "What was that spell you did?" asked Hazel, helping her up.

  "Life Blast," she muttered. "You did well to stay away. I would have hated to weaponise your vitality."

  "Use it more often. Sunbeam is all well and good twice a day, but this spell is awesome. In fact, I am starting to hope we can actually pull this off."

  "Hope will prevail," said Guelder with a faint smile, squeezing their arm.

  "Your Grace, permission to use our Scroll of Resurrection on Crusher?" inquired Harrim.

  Hazel shook their head in dismay. That scroll, only to be used in ultimate emergency, had cost the treasury 12,000 gold. Then again, with a group of five, they would soon be running headfirst into ultimate emergency.

  "You have my permission, Beard," said Guelder. "Please bring her back."

  Harrim knelt down beside Amiri's lifeless body, grabbed the holy symbol hanging from his neck, and started the ritual. He didn't make it past the first three words.

  "I can't," he announced. "Her soul is..."

  "Gone?" wailed Linzi, her lips trembling.

  "More like... inaccessible. Strange, indeed. Never seen anything like that."

  "Brambles," muttered Guelder. "And now imagine a flock of mind-controlled people shamble into this hellhole and gather up around the locked door. One of them will inevitably step on the switch, and..."

  She didn't continue.

  Hazel, ever the pragmatist, collected some of the fatter fish from the floor, including the once fearsome electric eel. At least their dinner was sorted. And they needed a fire, anyway, to dry their gear and clothing. But not here. Guelder didn't trust those hatches anymore.

  Linzi, this time sitting on Valerie's shoulders, picked the lock without further issue, and they settled for the next available room for night rest. It was not very spacious and had no lockable door, either, but it was free from corpses, sarcophagi, and traps. They still had some firewood stowed away in their Bag of Holding, and the eel provided enough nutrition for all of them.

  The fire was still crackling happily when the others went to sleep. Guelder took the first shift of night watch. She sat a little apart from them, legs crossed, Pangur curled up around her hips, her fingers idly playing with his fur, feeling for ticks. That always calmed her down.

  The memory of the struggle in the river room was still fresh in her body and mind. It felt a bit like reliving Davik Nettle's death in fire, blood and water, but even more vivid. She was now bound to this land, too, even if it was not officially hers, and it was her responsibility to save it from falling prey to undeath. There was nobody else to do it. Maegar had likely died in a flood like this, his soul ripped away for an unknown fate, and Darlac... She must have ended up here, too, even though she'd held out against Vordakai's magic for longer than anyone else. And, of course, a necromancer would gladly use the bodies of his victims to prepare a worthy welcome for his guests. Ultimately, Guelder would have to face off against husks of people she knew and loved, and even if she prevailed, there was no guarantee that any of them could be brought back to life.

  Something stirred in the darkness.

  Guelder's muscles tensed, her fingers curling into a fist around a handful of Pangur's fur, waking him up. Slowly, quietly, she got to her bare feet (her boots were still drying) and, staying out of the circle of light, sneaked towards the place where they'd laid down Amiri's body, by the wall, covered with a cloak.

  Her suspicion proved correct. The cloak was swept aside and Amiri was on her feet again, tall, dark and dead, shuffling towards the fire and the others, dragging Ginormous behind her.

  While Pangur gave off his alarm call, Guelder shapeshifted to meet the attacker. A leopard would not do this time. Amiri deserved a bear, and even so, Guelder's success was far from guaranteed. Anyway, she let out her best roar and charged at her undead friend.

  Zombie Amiri was much less stable on her feet than her living version used to be. The furry mass slamming into her knocked her back against the wall. Ginormous fell to the ground with a loud clank. Before Amiri could scramble to her feet, Guelder was upon her, weighing down her limbs with her paws until Harrim would send some positive energy their way.

  Exhausted by the day's ordeal, the others were slow to wake up, and the baroness was getting impatient. She roared again to speed things up, unsure how long she could hold her ground. Losing her soul hadn't impaired the barbarian's ability to rage, and Guelder had to be careful not to harm her body too badly. She still hoped her friend could be brought back somehow, and thought it would be easier for her soul to reclaim her body if said body was relatively intact.

  After a few long minutes of struggling, wiggling and biting, Harrim finally entered the fray and treated Amiri to the best healing spell he'd prepared for the next day, one that could restore a person's health almost completely – or finish off an undead human with a single touch. Once things quieted down, Guelder let go of the body and returned to her elven form. Her forearms were bleeding from deep bite marks that immediately started to fester. A nice set of new scars in the making. Something to remember Amiri by forever.

  "That's what you get for rejecting Rosary," remarked Linzi. "If you had let him come, now we wouldn't be one person short."

  "You will always be one person short, Inky," said Hazel. "Instead of berating Her Grace, why do you not help Beard hold this bag open for me, please?"

  With a sulking face, Linzi joined Harrim in stretching the mouth of the Bag of Holding as wide as they could, while Hazel and Valerie dumped Amiri's body into it.

  "Are you sure she can't come out anymore?" wondered the bard.

  "A Bag of Holding is a pocket dimension of its own, Inky," explained Hazel. "I doubt Vordakai can even reach her in there."

  "Weird, isn't it?" mused Harrim, tying up the bag's mouth. "The Varnlings used these bags for carrying corpses. We took this one, thinking we'd have a better use for it, but at the end of the day, we're also using it as a corpse bag. Kind of symbolic, if you get my meaning, heh?"

  Guelder took care of her wounds before the rot would take hold. As yet, it was nothing a minor healing spell couldn't fix, but still, it was a warning, hammering home the truth that one couldn't expect recognition from a zombified friend. An undead Maegar wouldn't hesitate to put a dagger through her heart, then pry her skull open and feast on her brain. Darlac would have no qualms splitting her in half, either, regardless of what her code said about killing allies. This was no time for emotions. Guelder had to be as cold and ruthless as Hazel wanted her to be, otherwise she would join the undead's ranks herself, along with her friends.

  She waited until the others went back to sleep before she let her tears flow free.