• Chapter 13: The Crown of the Tyrant

    The inside of the Cumumilos Catacombs were even more ominous than the outside gates.
    Despite some small modernizations of having special crystal lamps to replace the torches—which in the past had to constantly be refilled with oil or wood and relit—the dimness alone indicated that it was a place of the dead.
    The tan and gray stone blocks showed niches in the walls of the rooms, where the bones of the dead slowly crumble on the unyielding rock.
    Footsteps echo in an improvised dirge, as the five walk through.
    A sixth person was preparing to exit the catacombs.
    “Oh!” said Galina. “Who might you be?”
    The visitor, a Dwarf like Nauplius, was preparing to leave. Due to the dimness of the catacombs, it was difficult to see his appearance.
    “I’m just leaving after visiting the grave of a friend’s grandfather,” said the Dwarf. “Eventually, I shall return to Gray Corfu.”
    “Safe journey, fellow Dwarf,” said Nauplius.
    “Nauplius? Is that you?” asked the Dwarf. “I look forward to seeing you again as well. To your friends, the traps have long since been removed, since the grave robbers seem to get past them no matter what, but spirits sometimes appear, so be on your guard. And the place is still maze like, so let me impart to any skilled with magic a map spell.”
    Zanthe and Galina knelt before the Dwarf, and he touched each elf woman’s forehead. The knowledge of the catacombs’ layout soon entered into their minds.
    “Farewell, until we meet again,” said the Dwarf as he exited the catacombs.

    Galina said, “I can see in my mind the Chamber of the Kings.”
    “So can I,” added Zanthe.
    “The Chamber of the Kings?” asked Valerius.
    “Yes,” said Galina. “It is where royalty—good and evil alike—are interred. We decide that all kings should be buried together, and Hades will decide the final destination of each soul.”
    “Good point,” said Valerius with a shrug. “At any rate, let’s go. Chances are, Erebus is in that location as well, searching for that ‘Crown of the Tyrant’.”
    Zanthe and Galina soon led the boys through the catacombs.
    The party went at a pace that was similar to a jog. Their footsteps echoed in what one might turn into a rock and roll song if it were recorded and imitated well on drums.
    Normally it would take a map or a skilled guide to get through the maze, and even then under those normal circumstances it would take an hour or so to find the chamber. But with the Map Spell in the two female elves’ minds, they were able to find it in just little over half an hour.

    The Chamber of the Kings was far more elaborate than the other rooms of the catacombs. It was meant to be somewhat mausoleum-like, with very beautiful decorations to represent a palace in life, but at the same time somewhat dim to represent the darkness of the underworld.
    A large fresco of flowers and fruit decorated the open floor, surrounded by a few sarcophagi within the chamber.
    But on this fresco were Erebus and the captive Delphinia. Erebus had already opened one sarcophagus.
    “Here it is!” whispered Erebus in sadistic glee. “The crown of Minos of Cumumilos, the infamous tyrant. One tale said he had impaled a slave just for being a minute late with his clothing!”
    “Hold it, Erebus!” said Valerius as he entered the chamber. The other four soon arrived.
    “So that is Erebus,” said Galina, meeting the warlock for the first time.
    “So, Valerius,” sneered Erebus, “you brought another friend. But I already have what I need here. Just need a few more items, and a proper place to perform the ritual, and I can begin it.”
    “Valerius!” cried Delphinia.
    But before Valerius could approach to save his beloved, she and Erebus vanished in a bright flash. A few seconds later, the party heard a movement mixed with a rattle of bones.

    From the safe sarcophagus Erebus raided, a skeletal visage wearing the regal robe he was buried in emerged and stepped out. It was the Tyrant’s Lich.
    “Who dares disturb the rest of Minos of Cumumilos?!” the Lich said in a raspy voice.
    “The one who took your crown was Erebus Tonadi,” said Valerius. “I, Valerius Magnitis, am after—”
    His explanation was cut off by the Lich’s growl.
    “YOU LIE!” the Lich of Minos roared. “YOU HAVE MY CROWN! NOW I SHALL HAVE YOUR HEAD!”
    The Lich lunged forward, ready to slash him with his bony fingertip claws. Valerius and the rest barely got out of the way in time.
    “For a dead thing, you move pretty quick!” said Rouvin.
    “Flattery will get you nowhere!” replied the Lich of Minos.
    The Lich had no magical knowledge as such, but there was something about the undead that made the five living travelers NOT want to be touched by him.
    “Head’s up, friends,” said Nauplius as he threw his hammer at the Lich. Doing so cracked his legs.
    But the Lich was able to crawl with his arms, and he wasn’t going to give up yet.
    “Talk about persistent!” grumbled Valerius.
    “I got your back!” said Rouvin as he loaded his bow.
    “Or should I say… HIS!” he added as he shot. The arrow knocked the skull off the torso of the Lich.
    The skull quickly rolled toward Valerius. Instinctively, he crushed it beneath his left heel.
    “It’s best I not take a chance what his bite is like!” chuckled Valerius nervously.
    The rest of the Lich’s remains went limp and still.
    Zanthe and Galina carefully placed the remnants into the stone burial box. Galina then reached into her pack and got out her tinderbox to burn them, deciding it would be best to do so to prevent the Lich from ever rising again.
    The stone of the sarcophagus prevented the fire from spreading. Soon, the body of the Tyrant was naught but ashes.
    “For this tyrant, it’s over,” said Zanthe.
    Galina added, “Indeed. Let’s get out of here. This place is starting to creep me out.”
    The same Map Spell that guided the party to the Chamber of the Kings guided them back out to the surface. It was still early afternoon when they returned.
    Galina reached into her pack again and got some antibacterial hand sanitizer and shared it with the rest. Being around the dead somewhat required them to use it.