Spirits of the Earth

OOC: We'll establish posting order as we go, for now first come first serve.))


A brown and well shaped man sat in front of a tent, his clothes covered by sand and dirt. He clearly had fallen asleep in the desert sands, rather then making it to his tent. He let out a sigh, standing upright. He curled his fingers upward, humming something in an incomprehensible dialect, a golden portal forming. ''Now we wait.'' he said softly to himself.

Jacob had spend most of his day spreading pamphlets and messages to random folks, recruiting. He didn't really know how many would answer, or if any would answer at all, but the promise of loot and valuables was always something that seemed flawless at attracting potential buyers. He had been wondering though, he didn't really know why he felt such a need to bring others into this, surely he could do it himself?

He figured it was a gut feeling and his instincts were rarely wrong. Still, it gnawed at him, made him feel like he was being watched constantly. He sighed, sitting down along the road that would lead them toward the sphinx, one could see it shimmering in the distance. He had not the slightest clue how they would enter it anyway, probably one of the reasons why he felt the need to recruit a few folks.

He hoped that someone intelligible about breaking into tombs would show. He eyed the portal he had created, if one were to rip the pamphlet, they'd be teleported here. He half expected people to start using it as a cheap way of travel but so far so good. Honestly, he had no idea where he had gained the ability to create portals, which just added to the uncomfortable feeling gnawing at the back of his head, it felt as if he was doing things he normally never would, but it was silly to think something odd was happening, he was probably just more skilled then he thought.

Another sigh, as he plucked a flask from his belt, taking a few sips from the water contained within.

"Interesting..."

Harvey muttered to himself as he examined the pamphlet he now held in his hand, recently discarded in the streets of Essyrn by a random passerby. He'd come to the desert city in search of new cases; the place did have a reputation for housing more than a few criminals, so he was bound to come across something eventually. Sure enough, he did find something, but it wasn't related to criminal activity- instead, it was some sort of call for assistance. An untouched tomb, filled with relics from a long lost civilization? That certainly seemed like something worth investigating.

"...I don't understand. What's that little note at the end supposed to mean?"

The dragon perched atop Harvey's shoulder piped up, prompting him to read over the postscript. 'You will not be escorted to a nearby city' was a peculiar choice of words. He spend a few seconds pondering what exactly they could mean before shaking his head and shrugging.

"Beats me. There's probably an explanation and more details inside. But anyways, how do you feel about this? Think it's worth checking out?"

Soma squinted at the note with a fair amount of suspicion before slowly nodding, giving his approval. Grinning, Harvey quickly broke the seal on the pamphlet... and immediately found himself in an entirely different location. He stood there, rather confused, taking in the new surroundings. There was a man sitting alone on a road, a golden portal (presumably how they'd gotten transported here) behind them, and sand... plenty of sand. Trying to get Harvey's attention, Soma started pointing to something in the distance.

"Uh, Harvey? I'm pretty sure this is the right place."

Following where the dragon's claw was pointing, Harvey's eyes came across the distant sphinx, indicating that the duo had arrived where the note had specified. A smile growing across his face, he walked over to where the other man was sitting and tried to initiate a conversation.

"You're the one who sent out those pamphlets, I suppose? That was certainly an... unexpected method of transportation."

Gawfy had been Wandering around Essyrn For Some time now. Sword Sharped and Armor polished after a Job he had just Done. When some man Ran up to him and handed him a pamphlet and A modest amount of gold and left.  This man knew how to pick them because Gawfy was really hurting for some cash. He Bought Some dried Meat and Grain, Also filled up Three Flasks of water and bought Two bottles of cheap Whiskey. He Also Purchased a cloak to put over his armor. After throwing on the cloak he Broke the seal and was soon Teleported to some where in the desert. He Saw the man who hired him From the beginning of the day and another man with a dragon on his shoulder. I guess we are waiting for some others? Gawfy said as he Took the Cork off of the Bottle and started Drinking Through the open mouth of his wolf Helmet.

After a long chain of pathetically easy missions, Adon is ecstatic to receive one that was something other than hunting down some measly creature. Wearing common attire and with no weapon in hand, he would have hardly expected someone to approach him with a task. Adon checked his leather rucksack for the essentials, a dozen flasks of water, preserved fruit and some "mystery meat" from the butcher that never goes bad even in the driest climates. He scanned the pamphlet over carefully to look for any fine print. He went on with no idea what getting 'not getting escorted to a nearby city' means, "What are they gonna do, teleport me?", but it doesn't concern him.

He stood up and tore open the seal and was instantly taken to the middle of the desert, gazing at a sphinx standing prominently in the distance. Adon feels a breeze behind him and turns around,"Oh, so I actually did get teleported" He spots three men, one who looks of Connlaothian descent conversing with a rather small dragon perched on his shoulder, a heavily armored tank of a man with a monstrous sword who looks vaguely familiar, and the gentleman that approached him with the pamphlet.

Adon strides up to meet his new comrades, looking quite unprepared without his battle attire, "Good day gentlemen!" He greets with arms wide open, "Who do I have the pleasure of working with today?"

*click....click....click...*

The lone sounds of a wooden cane could be heard as it tapped onto the ground beneath the coated figure. "Even the birds stopped singing. A powerful force must be at work here. Or..." he gazed around himself - but the renewed eyes of Avarex only gazed upon piles of corpses, the scent of scorched flesh in the air. But there was something else that dragged the man through the streets of the destroyed village, as if he was guided by a higher power, he moved towards a small house at the end of the road he stood in. As he touched the door of the building, the door crumbled to ashes "Pyromancers. A lot of them. Gone mad, I assume.... Hm?" his eyes darted towards a remarkably well-preserved table. The young man stumbled towards the construct, while the clicking of the wooden cane was the only thing besides his own steps that was heard. On the table, Avarex found a pamphlet. He analyzed it rather quickly, nodding slowly. "Interesting.." he muttered once more, before his body was falling into black sand grains, darting off into the direction of the meeting point.

Moments later, his shape reformed near the men that already had gathered, the scent of the destroyed village still present around him. He bows slightly, while relying on his cane to carry him "Greetings, my fellow travellers. I assume you have seen the same pamphlet as I have. I am Avarex, archeologist. I would like to join you on your risky endeavor."

(sorry for the delay, bit busy lately.)

Jacob quietly observed as the people that answered his summons were arriving. He snickered at harvy's comment, rising to his feet to properly great him. ''My name is Jacob and yes, I can't say that I remember how I got them... but they work.'' he shrugged ''There's plenty of more interesting mysteries awaiting us.'' he nodded at Harvy, before turning to the next arrival. Giving him a quick nod and an introduction as well ''Pleasure to meet you, I am Jacob.''

He continued his retinue of meet and great until the older man arrived. His eery loom of undeath sending shivers down his spine. He had extreme doubts about this man being an archaeologist, but he seemed powerful and thus useful. When he recovered from his surprise he quickly stepped up in front of the gathered group.

''Thank you all for coming, just in case you've forgotten my name is Jacob.. I will keep it simple.. he paused, collecting himself for a moment ''Behind me is a mysterious sphinx of some sorts, people say it just appeared through a portal someday and nobody has been able to open it, I hope that you all will help me change that.'' he smiled, before pointing toward several horses. ''They will take us there.'' without spending much time preparing himself Jacob mounted his horse, taking a moment to wait for his companions and then ride out.

The journey would be fairly uneventful, nothing really bothered to attack them and the closer they got to the sphinx the more the stench of death would become apparent, once they arrived, the group would run into a band of raiders. None of them armed, in fact, none of them seemed quite ''there'' as they were mindlessly bashing against the runed door of the sphinx, barely even acknowledging the existence of the newly arrived group of people. ''Here we are.. don't mind them, they've been here since I left.. they don't seem... sane.''

The sphinx was literally surrounded by statues, statues that seemed extremely un-natural, as if they could get up and walk away at any moment and perhaps even more disturbing, blood dripped from their blades and corpses littered the ground, some new, some old. ''As for the statues, they... seem harmless. I mean I've never seen them move so I think the corpses might be rival raiders or something.''



Upon closer inspection, one might note the raider's were beating themselves against the doors until they bled, broken noses and arms not uncommon either.

If one were to inspect the door, they would find several writings, mostly in an incomprehensible language only the very best could decipher. Jacob turned to Avarex ''Old man, think you could have a go?'' he inquired, hoping that it perhaps would give them access to the interior of the sphinx.

Everyone but Avarex heard a voice in their head;

''All your goals seem so clear, yet one man remains to be feared.''

and Avarex alone would hear the other words;

''The runes that you seek... the guardians of her majesty may yet keep.''

As soon as the voice finished, everyone could feel an odd sense of being watched as well as the feint sound of white noise.

Avarex did stare down at the abscent raiders, smirking for a moment. He had seen this before, but not to this extend. He shook his head as he was adressed by Jacob. Fairly difficult to get in there. But let me see what we go-..." The man's voice fell quiet as the thundering voice echoed through his skull. It was none of the usual voices that resided within his mind, but the shock remained controllable. He quirked an eyebrow as his pupils wandered over to some of the nearby statues. Moments passed in silence as the man with his cane eyed the statues critically, his left hand rubbing over his chin as all that was heard from him was an occasional "Hm!"

The eye-movement of Avarex was beyond normal, they darted knowingly over the statues, one may think it came from his archeologistic experiences, others may dare to say that Avarex was someone with deeper knowledge of magic. After a while he pointed at the weapons the statues held. "In some cultures, they built statues as resemblance of guardians of the afterlife. A silly thought when you come think of it. But if I am not mistaken we should pay closer attention to them." Avarex held out his hand to touch the blood-overflown body of the statue, his hand did not reach for something specific, yet it seemed to be somewhat guided, as if Avarex could feel something.

Harvey maintained his cheery attitude as everyone made their introductions, greeting each new arrival with a smile. Soma, on the other end, seemed rather on edge, carefully eyeing the strangers and focusing on every detail he could notice. He wasn't quite sure what, but he could sense that something was up, and he couldn't afford to let his guard down until he'd discovered what it was. Noticing that his partner was already hard at work, Harvey decided to be silent for the duration of the trip so that Soma would be able to focus easier.

When they eventually reached the sphinx, it was immediately obvious that this wasn't going to be any ordinary investigation. There were a few people relentlessly attacking the door of the tomb with nothing but their own brute strength, an army of lifelike statues soaked in blood, and corpses everywhere. Immediately, Harvey was drawn to the raiders who were still alive- perhaps they knew something about what happened to all the others. However, they seemed to ignore him as he approached, apparently devoted to breaking down the door at all costs. Intrigued, Soma hopped off of Harvey's shoulder and flew in front of one of the raiders, hovering there for a few seconds before giving up and returning to his perch.

"It's no use, Harvey. These guys are way beyond reasoning at this point. There's nothing we can learn from them."

Despite Soma's warning, Harvey spent a little while watching the raiders senselessly bash the wall before giving up and looking for something else to inspect. The writing on the wall was out of the question, so that left the corpses and the statues. He knelt down to observe some of the newer corpses, making a few mental notes on their fatal wounds. They didn't look like any kind of wound he'd seen before, being too varied to have been made by conventional weapons. Combined with the fresh blood adorning the weapons of the statues, there was an undeniable connection between the two. It seemed improbable, but it also seemed like the only possibility...

Suddenly, Harvey's thoughts were interrupted by a voice running through his head. The voice seemed to be sending a warning, but it wasn't exactly clear what the warning was about. Harvey turned to Soma, who stared back at him with a similar look- one of confusion, and slight concern. A strange feeling started to wash over both of them, but it wasn't enough to make them want to quit. The white noise, however, was more of a problem; Harvey could ignore it pretty easily, but Soma's enhanced senses made it more noticeable... and more disturbing. Shivering a little, the small dragon spoke once more.

"...Yeah, something's definitely wrong here. We should be more careful."

Simply nodding in compliance, Harvey stood back up and once again started surveying the area. Maybe there was something else to find, something that would make this whole situation make more sense.

Gawfy Stood around drinking until Adon arrived. He probably did not recognize Gawfy because of the Helm. After Adon Arrived One more man did after him. Old Looking fellow who said he Was an archaeologist but carried No tools. Gawfy eyed Him through his helm and Took note. After doing so they Hopped on their horses and left. He Watched as the Man with the dragon rode in front of him. He Was not dressed to fight and Did not bring any tools. Maybe he was here just to take in the sights? And the dragon Looked like it possessed rudimentary Knowledge as it Cautiously watched the party the whole ride. As they arrived There where some men Banging their heads against the walls of the sphinx. ''As for the statues, they... seem harmless. I mean I've never seen them move so I think the corpses might be rival raiders or something.'' Jacob said as Gawfy looked over. but somthing did not make sense to him. If he where a raider why Kill Other people outside the Door? It would make more sense to Let them enter set off all of the traps then kill the remaining people and Take whatever Loot there was.  But here they where, dead outside.
Gawfy walked over to the bodies. Some of these men where armored. when Gawfy grabbed their Dead limbs their bones where broken. He stood up and looked at the weapons they dropped.
Bow. Bow. Sword. Axe. Sword. Sword. Not a single hammer present.  Gawfy then let go of the dead man as he head a voice pang inside his head. Gawfy closed his eyes and listened to the words and the white noise that followed then shook it off. There was only one other Time He had this happen to him. Gawfy walked back to the others unnerved.

 Adon was in no mood to start cracking jokes. If things were not strange enough with the bodies and relentless head bashing, it gets even worse when he hears a voice in his head. ''All your goals seem so clear, yet one man remains to be feared.''Adon thought that he had seen it all in his two decade long career as a mercenary but the voice genuinely rattled him. He adamantly ignores the white noise that follows suit and turned immediately to eye the decrepit figure of Avarex, inspecting the door to the sphinx with fleeting eyes.  Adon despises making assumptions. The voice could mean anyone. We've barely started, keep it together. He ponders whether he should don his armor just in case something were to pop up unexpectedly. Adon looks back at the raiders, there may be a direct correlation with the voice he had heard earlier and the men throwing themselves at the door. Adon reaches inside his bag for a flask when he sees Harvey heading off with the dragon, never seeming to remember it's name. The dragon turns it head as Adon runs towards the pair ''Harvey, would you mind me tagging along with your investigation? All I am good for is combat and it seems there is currently no action.''

Jacob seemed largely oblivious to the voice. Simply continueing his inspection of the door. His attention eventually shifted toward Avarex, whom had been observing a statue close to their proximity. He wondered what it thought that he had found and walked over. Eyes fixated on the man. He didn't trust him and yet something within himself ordered him to, as if he wasn't quite himself.

He quickly shook that notion off as nonsense, the work was probably just getting to him. ''Found anything useful?'' he inquired, trying to see what the man had been looking at. Despite the response he would eventually turn around, addressing the people in the area. ''Lets all look for potential clues as to how to get inside and perhaps even to how this got here.''

It seemed his words carried some kind of response, as the sphinx suddenly shook, layers of sand falling off of it and into the wind, creating a small sand made fog around the structure. There was something magical to it though, the sand just kept picking up, creating an almost sandstorm level of thickness surrounding them, clouding the area entirely, people only being visible up close.

''Everybody okay!?'' Jacob exclaimed.

Although the sandstorm seemed relatively harmless. One might note that all the statues beside the one Avarex had inspected where gone and one might even spot shadows moving around in the storm, statues standing at odd places. Where they alive? or where they part of a puzzle?

''The self proclaimed lord of undeath will open the way.''

the voice would once again thunder in everyone's heads, everyone receiving the same message this time.

Noticing that Adon had approached and requested to join him, Harvey momentarily brought his investigation to a halt and turned to face him. His expression went blank, and he seemed completely unresponsive as if he was turning into a statue itself. Meanwhile, Soma stared intently at Adon, his piercing gaze scanning for even the tiniest detail that could allow him to learn more about the stranger. This went on for a little while until Harvey finally cracked a smile, talking quickly and excitedly.

"...Alright, here's the deal. The way I see it, there's no possible way that these raiders could have killed each other. Their wounds don't match up with the weapons they're using, not to mention the ones that are still alive are completely unarmed. There has to be something else around here that could have killed them, something like..."

Harvey's voice started to drift off as he became aware of the sand starting to rise from the ground and swirl around the area, creating something resembling a sandstorm. He quickly covered his eyes with his arm to shield them from the sand, only lowering it when it became apparent that the storm wasn't actually doing any damage. The storm obscured most of the surroundings from vision, Adon being the only person he could see due to being in close proximity. Using his powerful eyesight, Soma caught a glimpse of a shadow moving through the storm. The small dragon nudged Harvey and pointed towards the shadow, causing the man to nod and call to Adon.

"Be on your guard. If I'm right about this, then these 'statues' are more than capable of combat. I don't want any more bodies to start piling up."

With that, Harvey started walking towards the shadow, his hand resting on the handle of his blade in case something unexpected happened. The voice started to rattle through his head once more, being just as cryptic as it was before. He wasn't quite sure why, but the voice only further motivated him to get to the bottom of whatever was going on here.

Just as Gawfy Was about to join the Others Sand started to kick in the air with violent whips. Gawfy heard the Horses going ballistic so he made haste to The Horses. most of them where making noise and Bucking like crazy. except one who seemed a little weighed down. Gawfy took a look at The Horses Saddlebags and behold, gold armor and longsword and Spear. As soon as gawfy took the bags off the horse went ballistic. He then unsheathed his sword and started waving it around hoping to Feel for the Sphinx. After some steps his blade did meet a Slightly older man who was way too friendly.  Adon you are lucky your equipment is heavy or your horse would have ran off with it.
Gawfy said as he approached Adon and the dragon man. He then dropped the Bag. The voice Boomed in his head once again. Gawfy clutched his head preparing for a massive headache but it never came.  He then Pulled out his bottle and Held up his hand to shield the amber liquid from the sand as he took a drink.

"It appears that we have triggered a trap. If I am correct our chances of survival out here lay bellow twenty-five per cent. I will attempt to find a way to open the chamber. Hold anything that may seem hostile off of my back." Avarex declared as he searched the statue in front of him. His hands followed the extremely detailed construct of him, despite the blood that seemed to spill the right sleeve of his jacket as the fingertips ran over the chest. It was obvious that he was looking for a button, a trigger for a mechanism. It was not the first tomb he was making his way into.

His hand followed the carved muscles of the statue, down it's arm which held a weapon. Avarex' eyes couldn't come around a certain detail. A single object, that didn't seem to fully fit into the making of the rest of the statue. At the top of the hilt, a small round object stood out a little. "A rune?" he muttered. Slowly he attempts to push in the rune-plate, but soon noted that it wouldn't work this way "Hm. Smart. A rune lock, I assume." he looked at the distracted group as the sand kicked up, he smirked, knowing that nobody would have a closer look at his fingertips now. The change of his hand was barely notable under the soaking lifefluid exceeding the terrifying statue. His right hand formed into a shadow-soaked claw, granting him additional strength. Avarex leaned onto his cane, pulling the rune out of the hilt. He awaited the opening door, should he already have the solution? Or was there something else he had to do to trigger the mechanism? Blood dripped down his arm, swiftly forming back into flesh and bone.

The details of Harvey's investigation were intriguing, quite a meticulous fellow. Harvey stopped his sentence short when the sand starts picking up. Sandstorms were to be expected in this desert but this one gave Adon a sense of paranoia similar to how he felt when the voice spoke eerily in his mind.

The storm picks up, what were small gusts of sand escalates into a full blown storm, Adon can barely see Harvey and the dragon, who were right next to him, everything else was encased in a thick screen of sand. Adon could barely hear Harvey's warning, but he got the message, stay on guard. Adon grasps for the weapon on the back, his face pales as he comes to the realization that his equipment was left behind with the horses.Don't worry, if I can survive for just a little while, I can materialize the equipment here. A tall shadow approached waving a massive weapon, lightning surges on Adon's fingertips, must be one of those 'statues'. His rock hard expression quickly lightens up as Gawfy came into view in front of him. Skipping the formalities, he thanks Gawfy and dons his armor. Spear out and ready to skewer anything that attacks.

Harvey wanders off towards a shadow in the distance, "Stay safe comrade", he calls out to Harvey. Once again, the voice echoes in his head. The voice elicits rage that Adon has never felt before,The voice... it's mocking us, giving us cryptic messages to scare us. A lightning bolt materializes in Adon's hand with a loud crackle. "ENOUGH OF THIS MOCKERY" he hurls the bolt down at the ground in front of him, sand dispersed in a large radius around him and Gawfy.

The storm continues raging, but Adon's vision was no longer obscured in the blast radius. Statues are seen walking stiffly towards the pair, faces expressionless but approaching with murderous intent. Off in the distance other statues are seen impaling the brain dead raiders, blood gushing from their wounds like miniature waterfalls. The sand slowly accumulates in the air, vision no longer clear. Adon drops his spear and forms many more lightning bolts in both of his hands this time, each coursing with power enough to down multiple ogres. He let fly all of the bolts to each of the advancing statues, confident that he can disintegrate them all.

The sandstorm picks right back up where it left and proceeds to enshroud Gawfy and Adon in sand. All they could see were disfigured shadows slowly rebuilding themselves. The statues march on; this time with a vengeance. Adon picks up his weapon and stands resolute with Gawfy, a feeling of deja vu washes over him as he says to Gawfy, "I hope you are ready, friend."

(OOC) BTW Gawfy, Adon has only one weapon, called a swordspear, inspired from The Nameless King character from Dark Souls III.

The statues seemed rather unphased by most attacks send their way, the very storm that surrounded them rebuilding them from scratch if it had to. Massive blades were drawn as the hostilities started, the raiders killed and disposed of swiftly. Soon after they began marching toward the group, the bolts hit the statues, destroying them utterly. However, these weren't mortal works and they were soon simply recreated, only more annoyed with the intruders.

However, as quickly as their advance had began, it ceased, when Avarex pressed the button, they turned and marched toward the door, each of them kneeling down beside it creating a hallway of sorts. Finally, the door slit open, sending ancient air into open sky. The statue in front of Avarex knelt down, its rocky and low voice echoing through the sky ''You know not what you do.. She must remain.'' although initially its language would be unrecognizable, magic would soon translate it for the ones that could hear it speak.

Jacob was quick to jump to the chase, peeking into the open archway. Inside, he found that the Sphinx was much larger on the inside then out, a massive hallway with a ceiling so far up that it could barely be seen. Within, they'd find everything laced with gold. It was beautiful, until one continued, thousands upon thousands of un-dead stood there, motionless, their forms inhuman. Instead of having humanoid heads, they had the heads of birds, crocodiles and jackals. They all held massive glaive blades.

Spoiler

(http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll65/staticgrass/WAR/moreTK.jpg)

[close]

''This is unbelievable.. I can practically feel the necrotic energies inside here.'' and he wasn't lying. Surely the other's would feel it too, that cold sense of dread that only the most forbidden of arts could summon within one. Regardless, they didn't seem in immediate danger. Left and right, the massive hallway continued on, holding many more of those undead. Observant eyes may even notice how new ones were continuously created from what seemed to be sand, slowly forming into a skeletal being. ''This might be a royal tomb of sorts.'' Jacob continued, staring around in awe.

His eyes were quickly drawn to the massive doorway further ahead. Beside it, two massive stone looking contraptions that looked like smaller sphinxes, they too seemed eerily alive. And soon, they proved to be just that as they awoke, red glowing eyes fixating on the group but not moving ''Trespassers, fools, heretics!'' one exclaimed while the other seemed more calm in its demeanor ''You should not be here, turn back.'' for whatever they were, it seemed they couldn't actually move their bodies and could merely observe and comment. ''The tomb Queen must not be awoken from her eternal slumber.''

Jacob seemed annoyed, almost angry. ''Don't listen to them! This is the find of the century!'' he looked back to the group, beckoning them over, finding renewed vigor to figure out what was actually going on within this place.

''The long circle is nearly complete.''

As Harvey continued to wander further towards the shadow, he picked up on a few noises- the sickening sound of blades slicing into flesh, and the sudden destruction and crumbling of statues. A few of the blurred shadows seemed to vanish for a moment, only to rise from the ground and continue to move a few moments later. The one that Harvey had approached finally started to take on a more distinguishable shape, one of an approaching statue, brandishing its weapon in a menacing fashion. Harvey drew his own blade in response, clearly not in any mood to back down from a confrontation.

As per the usual strategy, Soma leapt off Harvey's shoulder and flew up to the living statue, darting around at high speeds. He put all of his efforts towards drawing its attention away from Harvey, trying to create an opening for an attack. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, the man leapt forward and slashed upwards at the statue's body, relying on his speed advantage in order to get his strike to connect. However, his blade seemed to bounce harmlessly off his opponent's body, causing him to recoil and stumble backwards a few steps. Quickly working to regain his balance, he held his sword close in case he had to parry an attack. Instead, though, the statue abruptly turned away and started marching off into the distance. Intrigued, Harvey motioned to Soma to return to his perch and started following the statue into the storm.

When the statue stopped walking, Harvey found himself back at the entrance to the tomb, which had been opened since he had last checked. The tomb had a unique quality to it, one that both drew him towards it and warned him to stay away. There was a certain feeling of dread in the air, and the various creatures that inhabited the tomb issued several warnings to the group. For whatever reason, though, he felt more compelled than ever to uncover the mysteries of the tomb.

Gawfy Chuckled As he took his Sword in both hands. Always am, and always will be, He walked Towards One of the Statues as it raised its blade, He Took a stance and hefted His sword back. As the statue Brought its sword down Gawfy Smashed it with a Sideswipe. Gawfy then brought his sword overhead and Chopped at its Legs. It then fell and Gawfy jumped on top of its Chest and Smashed its Head. After jumping off he turned back and saw the Sand from the storm mending the stone. He cursed and called to Adon for a retreat. He Saw the others Enter the now open door and Hurried in.

Catching up he did not pay any mind to the undead. Gawfy overheard What the statue said, He tapped Harvey on the Shoulder as the dragon watched him.What do you suppose is in this place anyway? Gawfy asked as he put his sword back on his back.

*click click click* the sound of Avarex' cane hitting the cold stone of the tomb. He took a deep breath in, too familiar with the scent of undeath. "Make no mistake now. We must pursue our goal. It is our duty to reveal the past of this place, no matter what obstacle we have to overcome." he proceeded to gaze around the hallway they stood within. Avarex contemplated quietly what the voice told him, his hand runs around his chin, while he walked deeper into the tomb. He wondered wether the undead here were wardens, or a relique of a battle long lost. This was their task to discover - and maybe, only maybe, he could get an advantage out of it.

The voice that echoed in his head comforted him, he was not afraid, but allured. "Almost like my mistress, back in the days" he thought to himself. *Click!* he brought down his cane, unnotably, black sand emerged from the spot he just tapped. He fell onto his rear, acting, as if he was surprised as the released sand shot towards the door, forcing it shut. "O-Oh my! I must have triggered a trap! I... I am so sorry! I didn't know.... mercenaries, there is no other way than forward for us now!

When the necromancer forced the door shut Jacob seemed almost relieved, his eyes quickly darting away from his companions so that they could not see his joy. Why was this making him joyous anyway? he was trapped here! Shaking off that thought, he marched past the sphinxes, whom had now shut up as the trigger mechanism was within the door.

He carefully stepped through the hallways, worried about traps. None would come, it seemed that whomever build this place didn't plan on people actually ever entering it, or it was meant to keep things in rather then out. That just made for a more interesting discovery. As he moved deeper and deeper into the catacombs then stench of undeath became much more intense. Several more of the massive halls like the one they had initially entered through existed and they all housed thousands of those undead. Whatever magic was at work here, it was clear that the Sphinx was working tirelessly to set up an army.

''But who commands it...'' he inquired, dreams of power and prosperity darting through his mind. ''Perhaps there's a scepter or something, that lets one command these undead.''it seemed almost too good to be true, an army just lying around in the desert!

The noises in the groups head would only grow more intense as they got deeper into the structure, no doubt advancing closer to the source of it all. Whether the group followed or not seemed to matter little to jacob as he advanced on and on for what seemed like hours.

Eventually, he came up on a large with gold adorned room, it was massive and beautiful. Within, a large sarcophagus stood another just below it. He walked up the stairs and inspected the highest sarcophagus first, as it being above the other clearly meant it was a more important individual. He caressed it with his hand and was subsequently launched down the stairs, hitting the ground with a thud and painful cough. ''What the hell!?'' he exlaimed.

'"YOU BEAR HER MARK!'' a voice thundered through the hallway ''THE SLEEPER MOST NOT BE AWOKEN!''

Jacob slowly crept up, standing on his feet once more before looking around himself, trying to determine the source of the voice. He soon found it, a big, stone head attached to the sealing that seemed capable of expressions as if it was made of flesh and blood ''Who's mark?'' he inquired, confused by the heads remark.

''THE MARK OF THE TOMB QUEEN.'' the head seemed unable to lower its volume and shouted whatever it said, looking down at the group ''LEAVE NOW!''


''Do not leave, we share a master!'' the voice would return to the group, almost as if responding to the statues remark. The door would promptly fall shut as the last member of the group entered.

The door slammed downwards violently as Adon entered the room with the sarcophagi. Voices filled his head, all collectively talking about a master and how he is 'so close'. The voices have been jabbering constantly as soon as the group entered Sphinx. Everytime Adon looks at a piece of treasure or a statue, another voice joins the fray, like a choir the voices sang and chanted about riches, power and their wonderful 'master'.

There was a lot of tension in Adon's body, lightning sparked from every pore and emanated from him like an aura. This continued until the group reaches the sarcophagus room. There was a sudden urge arising in him, beckoning him to open the sqecophagus. It took a gargantuan effort to resist the urges but he holds it in, waiting for Jacob to make a decision. Unaware that Jacob had already tried to act whilst Adon was fighting the voices.

Soma suddenly snapped into action as someone from the group set off a "trap", sealing off the exit from the tomb and therefore destroying the group's only escape route, at least that they knew of. He darted off to the door, flying around frantically and tapping on it in a futile attempt to get it to open. Meanwhile, Harvey watched the dragon check around for a little bit before cautiously extending his hand towards Avarex to help him up.

"You've gotta be more careful. Don't want to become like one of those guys, do we?"

Harvey used his other hand to point at the rapidly growing army of undead, using them as an example to prove his point. Soma returned a little while later, a defeated look on his face informing Harvey that there was, indeed, nowhere to go but forward. While the man wasn't exactly intending on leaving in the first place, it would have been nice to know that they could leave at any time if need be. Maybe, though, if they continued to explore the tomb, they would come across some way to get the door back open.

As the group continued deeper and deeper into the tomb, the strange feelings that emanated from it only grew stronger. The voices continued to ring, drawing the group further still. Harvey's desire to investigate the tomb began to morph into something more sinister- it was becoming more of a need than a desire. He seemed to fall into a trance of some sort, only concerned about moving forwards and disregarding the thousands of undead lining the walls.

Soma's reaction to the strange effects was more noticeable. Several of his senses started to become overloaded, causing him great discomfort. The voices and the undeniable small of death became impossible to ignore, to the point where they were unbearable. Even the necrotic magic was starting to have an effect on him, causing him to feel sick. Overwhelmed by all of this, the dragon shut his eyes and dug his claws into Harvey's jacket, becoming just as unresponsive as his human partner.

Harvey snapped out of his trancelike state as Jacob tumbled to the ground, and a booming voice warned the group to leave immediately. Well, that was certainly easier said than done, considering that there wasn't any way to leave, at least not at the moment. There was only one choice left, and that was to uncover the mysteries behind the tomb. The voice rattling inside his head s appeared to agree, though perhaps not for the same reasons.

"A master...? Would this 'master' happen to be the 'tomb queen'?"

For the first time, Harvey responded to the voice. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt the need to do so, nor was he really expecting a response. For whatever reason, it just felt... right.

Gawfy Turned his head as The door slammed behind him. He was about to Help the man up when the detective hurried to his aid. He stayed towards the front of the group. They continued down into the tomb Gawfy could feel things talking to him. He Ignored every word they said. "must be a demon down here some where" He though as walked close to Jacob. Soon they where In the room with the sarcophagus. The voiced where stronger than ever, Gawfy Bit Deep into His Cheek. Drawing Blood and staying Grounded in reality he Heard the Statue Boom Down on him and the Voice Say some more Cryptic bullshit.

He looked around him And saw some of the others acting odd. " Could it be that They are hearing them as well"? He thought Before Looking up at the Statue. In a calm manner he Lifted his Left arm and took a power stance and Scoffed Fuck this.  A Extremely loud Boom Crashed in everyone's Ears As Gawfy's Cannon went off drowning out the white noise. The Lead ball Crashed into The Statue. He Knelt Down And started reloading as he Yelled to Jacob.WHAT EVER YOU ARE GONNA DO MAKE IT QUICK

Gratefully he reached out his hand to the man, offering to help him up. He smiled awkwardly "Thank you, I must be more careful where I tread." he rose to his feet, his cane supporting the weight of Avarex. His gaze fell upon the sarcophagus only little later. He smiles brightly "Our reward is only a few more steps ahead." his eyes buldge as he hears the shot "Fool! Do you wish to bring the entire army to the conclusion that we are a -threat-? We must act carefully, quiet."

Avarex shook his head as he pats Harvey's shoulder "At least there is one, knowing what they do." His steps carried the archeologist towards the treasure he was looking for, ever since he has set his foot into the tomb. He moves closer to the sarcophagus, inspecting it, caressing it. He smiles yet again, "Fantastic." Avarex mutters. At first he attempted to open the resting place of whomever was burried here, but his attempt was in vain. It seemed that the sarcophagus was covered in otherworldly barriers. He gnawed on his lower lip, thinking of what possible options he had. "I assume the time to hide, is over, my friends. But my mission is by far more important than to keep up this nice... reputation." Before he gave anyone the chance to reply, his mortal shell bursted into shadows, flesh torn asunder, replaced by liquid darkness. Avarex assumed the form Amira has granted him. His face was warped into a demonic appearance, his eyes glowing red - his hair recoloring into white.

An aura of pure darkness surrounds the being called Avarex as his form hovers around the sarcophagus "You have been pleasent meatshields. But now it is time, to free this ally." from his body, several shadow tendrils shoot out, seeping into every hole, every crater, every slit the sarcophagus had to offer. His eyes open wide as the power of the underworld, battled these strange prison, but with a final effort, Avarex forced the sarcophagus to break under the godly powers that were his to command. "BE FREE!"

He was blanked out in thought until the sarcophagus began to open. "No." He leapt off hard from the ground, cracking the ground underneath him. Lightning crackles around his foot as he comes down hard onto the lid of the sarcophagus. Adon lands like a meteorite on to the lid of the sarcophagus, sounds of thunder follow suit, making the whole chamber rumble.

The dust dissipates and Adon is left standing on top of the sarcophagus, effectively stalling the awakening.  Avarex has changed, a terrifying aura surrounds his former physical form. The sarcophagus shakes under Adon's feet, the entity underneath struggling to get out, slowly but surely. Adon forcefully punches what's left of Avarex sending him backwards, but with no visible signs of damage. He looks to the group and shouts " Jacob and Harvey, I need you two to find a way to temporarily stall the awakening, and Gawfy, help me with Avarex or find an exit. As for I..." He glares at Avarex "I will eliminate the traitor." He steps off the sarcophagus, " I've had my suspicions 'Avarex' didn't think it would come to this."

Adon can feel the undead, twitching restlessly as if they were itching for a command. He looks back at the shadowy figure consuming Avarex, beckoning Adon to attack him. Adon charges Avarex rapidly and sends a flurry of stabs and slashes with his spear. *Gawfy's not the type to run, I should be expecting him any time soon*. Adon continues his relentless assault.

Finishing his reload he Hopped into action as Adon Jumped on the sarcophagus. He Fired it again at the Door making a small hole. If Something small where to get through it could look for a way to open it. He Knelt down again to reload. Not talking time to measure the Power he poured it in while slamming another lead ball in. He then Pulled his sword from his back and arced back as he Ran up on Averex. This sword was made to kill demons like you! He yelled as Adon And Gawfy attacked at the same time. The Rivets in Gawfy's Armor bolted Down and Blood dripped from the black scales. He figured he would Need the inhuman speed the armor could give him. Axerex couldn't Dodge both attacks at once.

"Ha...Ha...HaHa! HAHAHAHA!" a maniacal laughter exceeded the lips of Avarex, who didn't even bother to dodge the several stabbings, the weapon soaked deep into his body, yet it was more like dropping a weapon into sand. "I draw my power from the underworld itself, did you assume mortals such as you could keep up with me? But now that you plan to interfere with my plans, I fear I will have to make sure you do -not- succeed." his eyes moved slightly to face Gawfy's approach. Yet he smiles, he lifted one of his claw like hands - a wall of bones shot from the ground, along with the mourning of the dead, trapped within the realm of Mymiria. The boney surface entrapped the sword of Gawfy within the various gaps. "Face the power of the Dead." he twisted his hand with this phrase, the wall now growing spikes of it's own and shoots towards Gawfy.

Meanwhile the injuries that he carried slowly grew shut again, nearly as if there was no flesh left to be wounded. "I did contemplate to leave you alive. But apparently, you prefer to throw your life away. One last chance. Get off the sarcophagus, or let this be your tomb." As they spoke, his form seemed to become somewhat sentient, as the tendrils tore holes into reality, allowing spectres of his own to seep through, banshees, ghosts and whatever stories you heard before - he was the reason behind them. Avarex' remaining tendrils kept the pressure up to reveal whatever was trapped within the sarcophagus - and the necrotic atmosphere of the grave seemed to amplify his powers, additionally to his very own.

Shooting a hole in the door proved a lot more difficult then they may have thought, after all, what was the point of closing the door if it could simply be blown out? instead, the door reconstructed itself quickly and two doors to the left of the group opened, revealing some of the statues they had seen outside, these clearly existed for security measures however as when they activated they began marching forward and attacking whomever got in their way, triggered by the attempt to damage the construct, they too would simply repair their damage.

Meanwhile, whomever thought they could lock the sarcophagus would be launched away by terrible strength as it was kicked open from within. Finally, Samara stepped out, contrary to what they may have thought, she looked nothing like a corpse, in-fact, quite the contrary. She stepped forward, ignoring whomever was in proximity to her, her hand dragging through her long waving black hair ''I suppose I have you lot to thank for freeing me?'' she spoke monotone, no emotion to be found within her words. ''Or well.. Thank you for following my pawn.'' she motioned toward Jacob, who stared at her in disbelief. She wove her hands across the room, the statues halting their onslaught. ''I am in control again now.'' she simply stated, stepping down toward the other sarcophagus and tearing it open with her magic. ''Come my servant, we have much to do.''

It seemed as if she had forgotten about the group in front of her entirely, but soon she switched her attention back to them, Jacob specifically ''You've outlived your usefulness, pawn.'' she extended her hand toward Jacob, who promptly fell dead on the floor with a short scream of dismay. She then looked from Avarex to the group, a small smirk forming upon her face. ''I suppose a reward is in order.'' she smiled ''what do you want?''

It was hard to tell if she was being truthful about anything, considering how not once in any word she spoke she had shown any sign of emotion ''Be careful with what you wish for though.''

As the massive, elaborate sarcophagus of Samara burst open, a far less grandiose (but far larger) stone coffin slammed open as well, the ton-heavy lid slamming to the ground besides its body. Slowly rising from the massive coffin came nothing human, but not a being that appeared undead either. With the head of a jackle and the body resembling that of a human, Gravekeeper Embalmus rose from his confinement, standing a massive 10'5'' and towering over the beings who dared to stand before them. As his feet touched solid ground, skeletal hands reached up around his canine-feet, grasping for the air as if clawing for life before sinking earth they spawned from. Unlike other undead, Embalmus did not reek of rot and death, his place in the universe not so obvious. No, he held a dusty, ancient scent, one that covered tomes never opened since the dawn of time, and this reflected in the dusted gold that adorned his head and neck. In one wolven-human-esk hand, the being clutched a curved blade, a wicked, C-like sickle that could easily decapitate any and all who were unfortunate enough to meet its edge. In the other, the beast held a whip with three necks, each head with a barbed metal ball on the end, making it's potential impact a horrid thing to experience. The creature did not say a word as he glared down at these otherworlders, clearly unimpressed and repulsed by them even standing before his queen.

Embalmus showed no physical indication of it, but he was overjoyed to finally be free of his confinement. For amounts of time he could no longer remember, he had to stare at pitch-blackness, alone with the minor comfort of his master being nearby and the ever-growing cruelty of his thoughts. Silently, Embalmus wished for Samara to release him upon these beings... it would be a wonderful wake-up exercise....

The room erupted into chaos as, one by one, each of Harvey's new companions sprung into action. Avarex, the supposed "archeologist" was consumed by darkness and took on a much more sinister form, using his newly revealed powers to force the sarcophagus open. Adon and Gawfy quickly sprung into action in order to stop him, with the latter firing off a few cannon shots at the statue and the door. The constant barrage of noise brought Harvey back to his senses (and greatly irritated Soma), but the situation he was greeted with almost made him wish that it hadn't. Escape seemed all but impossible at this point, as the damage done to the wall repaired itself before it could be of any use. A few other doors, however, did open revealing statues similar to those he'd come across outside of the tomb. They looked pretty aggressive, but they did give him in idea: if they truly were the same statues from outside, then maybe there was an exit somewhere through those doors. Getting the same idea, Soma flew over to the newly opened doors to investigate.

Meanwhile, the situation with the sarcophagus didn't seem to be improving. Avarex seemed to shrug off any damage that was done to his new body, and he eventually succeeded in busting open the sarcophagus. Surprisingly, what emerged from it was not a corpse, but instead what looked like a young woman. The Tomb Queen... it had to be her, right? The person that all of the guardians had warned the group about was now freed from her prison, alive and well.

Shortly afterwards, another coffin opened, a towering and menacing figure stepping out and glaring at the group. These guys clearly didn't have the purest of intentions, but there was little that Harvey could do to amend the situation. Fighting against them would be a hopeless battle; Avarex's wounds healed almost immediately, the huge behemoth looked near impossible to damage in the first place, and the tomb queen made her power evident by controlling the statues and effortlessly ending Jacob's life. As such, Harvey didn't reach for his weapons, instead opting to gather as much information as he could.

"'What do you want'...? What are you talking about?"

Samara simply smirked as she inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of freedom. Her attention however snapped back to the group when only one spoke up, a modicum of surprise coursing through her mind. What did she want? she couldn't help but visually laugh in response to that question. ''Your world.'' she simply stated, giving the group a dead serious stare.

She stepped closer to Embalmus, her hands caressing his back as she did. ''To take back what is rightfully mine... and more.'' she turned to Avarex for a moment and narrowed her eyes. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but his loyalties seemed mixed. He had free'd her, she knew that, but she also sensed another power on him, the power of someone else. She figured that right now that hardly mattered and turned her attention back to the group.

''Don't try to be heroes, just like that human Jacob, you too will soon be in my thrall.'' she smirked ''Or did you think that voice in your head was your own?'' she gazed at Embalmus before stepping back. ''This is my mightiest servant, look at what you could become.'' she looked at Harvey in particular ''All you've got to do is let go of your mortality.''

Gawfy Took aim at the Bones coming at him while grabbing his sword. He Hefted his left arm again and fired his canon Smashing them to bits, Using the recoil from the cannon he tore it free and slid away from Avarex. The queen stepped out of her Coffin, as did the big fellow but Gawfy Focused on his reload. Loading the last ball he had into his arm he only catching the last part of her speech. I cant speak for the others but morality is all i got. He then Pointed to the statue he shot earlier. Im also wondering why your own guards would ask us not to open your casket He then gazed up at the tall fellow as he peered down at them. Also why take A detective He pointed to Harvey. A Hunter He pointed to Adon. And a Broken swordsman he pointed to himself. As followers? Surely a God like you has better taste then commoners like us

The sarcophagus flings Adon all the way to the doors leading outside, *so apparently there is an escape route*. But what really mattered at the moment was the entity that stands before the group, *I expected a heavily armored zombie man but this seems just as intimidating*. The armies of undead shift restlessly, the lady paces leisurely to the other sarcophagus of the room, the lid already opening on its own. A towering Anubis steps out from the sarcophagus, wielding brutal weapons in both hands. It radiates with tremendous power, countless armies and civilizations razed by its conquests.

Nonetheless, Adon was still glaring at Avarex, pondering about the different ways he can kill him. The mistress that stands before the group gives each person an offer; to become immortal and powerful whilst serving under her at the cost of mortality. "As enticing as immortality and infinite power sounds, Your Highness, I don't serve under any master as I am a freelance hunter. I may look like a knight, but I do not serve any ruler". "But if you let me eliminate that monster," he points to Avarex with his spear, "I can entertain you with the multiple ways I can end a beast."

*If I die, I want to take this traitor down with me*

As much as he hated to admit it, Harvey was seriously considering the offer.  It wasn't necessarily because he desired the kind of power being offered, but rather because of what he presumed the alternative was. After all, the queen had wasted no time getting rid of Jacob when she had no further use for him. If she could cause someone to drop dead so effortlessly, then there was no telling what she could do by using her full power... not to mention the control over the statues she'd displayed earlier. Shifting around uncomfortably, Harvey quickly tried to think up a response that wouldn't incite another fight... and hopefully keep his free will.

"...With all due respect, I don't think I can make a deal like that. It would probably, uh, get in the way of work, you know? People don't tend to take kindly to the undead... plus, my partner would be really angry with me."

He motioned over to Soma, who was passively hovering over by the doors and giving the awakened beings a rather stern glare. It seemed like the doors could be used as an exit, but it would probably be for the best to defuse the situation before making a break for it. There was no guarantee that they would survive if they tried to run, and there wasn't really anywhere to hide if they did make it outside.

Avarex bows deeply to Samara "My wish came true, after unleashing a being that shows that the dead are far more than material burried in the dirt. While I already have a Master, allow me to escort you on your way out. I am sure you would be fond of being shown around." his motions casting a slight trail of darkness behind him. He smirks at the various comments - he grew to his full size again, looking at his former allies. Avarex shook his head, chuckling "My. You seem to be rather annoyed. Yet all you came for was treasure. I came here to free an entrapped entity. I am pictured as the evil one, while you were guided here by your sheer endless greed." he turns to Samara "Another reason why I prefer the company of the dead. They do not lie to you, they do not try to steal from you." his finger lasted accusingly on the trespassers of the Tomb Queen's prison "These individuals came here, for the promise to steal your riches, M'lady. My Mistress has sent me, to prevent your items falling into the hands of these insignificant beings."

He spreads his arms to eachside, from his form emerges darkness, that left barely light to see what was actually going on. Several portals opened to each side, yet none of them seemed to be a place that the mortals knew off. It was an alternate dimension, warped and abstract to the human eye - the place where their innermost nightmares seemed to origin from.

Avarex laughed as he stepped behind Samara "Ask - and I shall transport you to any place you desire. I am sure, Mistress Amira would be delighted to meet you."

Samara laughed loudly, her cackle echoing through the chamber. When she finally settled down an amused grin spread across her face ''Those statues were supposed to be my keepers, but I took control of them as easily as I did Jacob.. All it takes is a little time.'' she turned to Avarex, her grin remaining on her face ''I require no escort, I require no saving, I am the tomb queen and all will know to fear me.'' she turned to Harvey ''You misunderstand, it was not an offer.'' she spread her arms wide, the very sphinx shaking and vibrating as she did ''Servants, rise.. your mistress calls!''

Mere moments later the echoing screeches of the undead rang through the sphinx, the thousands upon thousands of elite guardians that Samara had been growing over decades rising from their slumber. ''Bring your mistress... their heads..'' she stated softly, but her command was registered loud and clear.

It didn't take long for undead to begin swarming in the doors opening with a tide of undead. But these weren't ordinary undead, they did not shamble, they moved almost organically as they charged fully intend on cutting everyone down in this room. ''And to make sure there is no escape...'' she nodded at Embalmus ''You know what to do.''

She then at last turned to Avarex a smile on her face ''Whomever your mistress might be she made an ally today. I recommend you tell her that.''


The voice echoed through the heads of the group a loud, mad laughter as the undead tide came forth from their slumber, over-running the room. ''Hahahhahahahaha!''

The jackal-headed creature that was Embalmus was disgusted at the beings laid out before him, the pitiful humans that dared to deny his master's gift. If he had the honor of making this decision himself, these beings wouldn't be standing there before them, chattering like fools. No, they would be on the ground, their heads cut from their pitiful forms as he presented their souls to Lady Samara for her own experiments. He despised these beings not only for their BLATANT and UTTER FOOLISH disrespect of a lady such as she, but it was also the fact they were living in a place meant only for the dead. Samara's dead. Trespassing in a way only the living could, those greedy, chaotic apes. He tensed up as each one discarded his lady's suggestion, feeling his anger grow by the second. How dare they refuse such an offering? This was eternal life granted by a goddess no less and they were turning it down? It seemed these mortals needed some severe smiting... Before he could anticipate his queen's commands and end these fools, he felt her hand run up and down his back, immediately quelling his rage and allowing his professionalism to take over once again. His body relaxed and his eyes glowed less brightly as he adjusted his grip on his weapons. If this was what this world was like, he could only imagine the great abundance of headless walking corpses that would be serving her queen here. This was good, after all. If he remembered correctly, they were in need of a few back at the palace back home.

For the first time in several hundred years, Embalmus smiled as Lady Samara gave her command, skeletons, zombies, bone-amalgamates of any number of shapes and sizes rose from the sands within their tomb. It was a cruel, sharp grin that expressed his great, respectfully restrained desire to watch each one of them be torn limb from limb, his glowing orbs locking onto the human who wielded his lighting. He was not impressive, not in the slightest, far smaller than the jackal and no where near as powerful as the queen he served. When she gave him permission, The large undead advanced onto the field. Immediately, the moment he stepped down from the platform on which he stood. Massive skeletal hands sprouted up in front of the exit to this chamber, locking the mortals in with one sea of undead outside, and one quickly growing inside. He made a beeline directly at the lightning-man, cocking his whip-arm back before lashing the three-headed weapon towards his head, neck, and upper chest with such strength, likely immediately crushing his golden armor on impact. The barbed heads of the whip would snake through the air so fast, it would be a blur even to that of a monster such as himself. With his other hand, he dropped the curved blade within, curling his fingers inwards as he twisted his wrist up to face the ceiling. It appeared as if the air was being sucked out of the mortals' noses, eyes and mouths, but it was actually tiny pieces of their soul, culminating just above him human-dog palm. As more and more of their souls drained, as did their energy and will to resist. The soul-drain would take a fair amount of time to kill anyone on its own but with Embalmus actively in the field among this undead army, this would be a quick fight.

Gawfy wasn't sure what to do next. But he had to do somthing. So he put his hand on his chest and the Jaws of his helmet clamped down.  A Second wave a Rivets Bolted down into his bones and internal organs as the helmet's Eyes Gave off a Crimson glow. He Let out a Howl then crouched close to the ground. Seeing the monsters arm twitch he moved to adon in a flash. When the Balls where cast down Gawfy threw adon on the ground and Threw his hands in the air to Stop the ball. The ball smashed into gawfy's Arms breaking every bone in them. He Then grabbed it and tore it off its chain and threw it into the monsters other hand as he cast his spell. as the ball hit the monsters hand a faint stitching could be heard. Metal shards from the rivets where taking Gawfy's broken bones and flesh and putting them back into place to hold him together. Gawfy's Critical thinking was gone. All he could think about is how much he wanted to make everyone in this room into a Thick red paste.

Adon was right, the undead were itching for a command. They stepped forward immediate after the command was called. Adon charges up an attack, energy surges through his spear. Preoccupied from surveying the army and preparing his attack, he was completely unaware of the beast approaching rapidly. Luckily, Gawfy was on high alert and saved him from becoming mince meat while simultaneously stopping the beast from doing whatever he was doing.

Adon stands up and looks accusingly at the beast, "It was awfully cowardly of you to strike me whilst I was preoccupied." He turns to thank Gawfy for saving him but all Adon sees is bloodshed, Gawfy hacked through waves of undead with his sword like a hot knife through butter. Adon turns his attention back to the beast, looking enraged from Gawfy's intervention. "Turn your attention back to me, mutt," he shouted mockingly, " you are fighting me now understood? Though, you might become Chinese cuisine after the beating that will ensue" *From the speed he charged at me earlier, he's fast but I can definitely keep up, though I doubt I can inflict any significant damage*. Be beckons the beast to attack with a 'Come at me bro' pose, ready to avoid any attack that comes his way.

Much to Harvey's disappointment, the queen didn't exactly take kindly to his words. It seemed that she was intent on ending the lives of the whole group, whether they surrendered willingly or not. Soon enough, the army of undead heeded their master's call and began to storm the room, running at full speed almost like regular humans. Each of them was intent on ripping apart anything that was alive, regardless of how many of them were destroyed in the process. Quickly, the situation became more hopeless than it had ever been before. He wasn't entirely sure how powerful the rest of the group were, but Harvey didn't exactly have any extremely powerful abilities. Sure, he was a good fighter, but there was only so much he could do against an endless horde of enemies. It certainly looked like this place was going to become a tomb for more than just the queen... but he couldn't just accept death without at least trying to something about it. Filled with a sudden surge of resolve, the detective drew his sword and stepped forward to start thinning the crowd of undead, before suddenly stopping when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Across the room, Soma had collapsed onto the ground due to a combination of sensory overload and the new factor of having his soul slowly drained. Concerned, Harvey immediately dropped his sword and sprinted over to the dragon and frantically checked to make sure he was still alive. He was breathing, thankfully, but there was no guarantee for how long that would last. In any case, there was no way in hell that Harvey was going to risk Soma getting injured... or even worse, killed. He was, more than ever before, focused on finding a way to get to safety; however, the only way out seemed to be the newly opened portals that probably led to somewhere even more dangerous. Steadily growing weaker and losing his will to fight, Harvey fell to his knees and held Soma close in a protective manner. He simply watched as the battle raged on, waiting as his energy was drained and the voices in his head exploded into in uproar of laughter.

Embalmus raised an eyebrow as one of the other mortals dashed in front of mr. golden-armor, the whip's heads smashing into his arms, smashing them to splinters. Before he could retract his weapon for a finishing blow, the man somehow managed to grab onto one of the flailing heads and attempted to tug it apart from it's handle. To his surprise, Embalmus was actually encountering some amount of resistance from this fellow. He actually had to try to keep his whip in his hand. That being said, it didn't take that much effort. As for the strain between whip and pull, this was a weapon given to him by the goddess Samara! As with his body, it was flooded with her magical might and sustained by her power alone. No amount of sheer brute strength was going to shatter a weapon granted by a goddess! Laughing at his mediocre attempt at being a hero, Embalmus, with his superior strength able to level mountains, tugged back towards him, tossing the fully-armored man into the air, sending him reeling directly at the Jackal. As he reached half-way the whip faded to dust in his hands, his fingers curling into a fist before he shot it into the air as if he were doing an upper-cut punch. Suddenly, a massive skeletal fist rose from the sand and in a flash, it would smash the interrupting swine into the roof, likely not killing him due to his armor pinning him back together, but it would take him a substantial amount of time to get back in working order. With that being said, the hand did not sink back into the sands either, it just pinned the broken soldier's body to the ceiling as Embalmus casually walked around it to face the lightning-guy. A new weapon appeared in Embalmus' hand as he drained their souls, a golden staff that radiated necrotic energy as opposed to his opponent's spear which sparked magical lightning.

"No more Interruptions!" He growled, causing the skeletons around them all to stop fighting and stand well-enough far back, giving them a a wide berth to do their fight. For one reason or another, he wanted to fight this man fully, head on with no one getting in the way, not even that little coward cuddling his lizard. With the skeletal army standing in a large circle around them, acting as an arena of sorts, Embalmus tapped the ground with the end of his staff, a large pulse of purple energy shooting out from where he made contact. This energy would cover the entire area of the circle, but would cause no direct harm to the man in any way. He was simply setting the stage for their duel. The golden man seemed cocky enough, the pose he held offering no defensive benifits whatsoever and more-or-less there to get on his nerves. But little did they know, this jackal had hundreds, if not thousands of years of combat experience and generalship and would not be baited by something so obvious and petty. No, instead, a massive bone spike akin to a rib would shoot out from the ground behind the lightning-man, aimed at the base of his skull. Embalmus would give no indication he cast such a technique as he stood there, staff in one hand, Soul-draining spell (still in effect) in the other.

*He's at it again, raising his hands in the air trying to drain souls like a coward, time to attack straight on* "That was quite an impressive trick you pulled there, but you're not the only one able to pull that off." Adon raises his fist and puts his thumb downwards, a hand formed from lightning  materializes in front of Adon, copying his motion. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to turn your little coming out party, into a funeral"

Adon rushes the jackal with breakneck speed. Adon buffets the jackal with a storm of slashes and stabs, the dust picks up and in a few moments, all one can see is a sandstorm. While he keeps up his assault, he runs around and up and down the jackal's body while weaving and dodging with proficiency. Even with all that effort, Adon lacks the raw power from simple slashes and stabs to do any significant damage to Embalmus.*Tougher than I thought eh?* He charges up a lightning bolt in his left hand and runs up the front of Embalmus's body whilst dragging his six foot spear along with him, he kicks off the jackal's face like a launch pad and hurls the charged bolt right between the eyes. Adon lands, and quickly finds that a bone had been following him the entire hand and he quickly blocks it with his right hand.

The smoke clears and the jackal was visible again, with minimal signs of damage. The bone launches straight through Adon's palm and gloves and comes out bloody from the other side. He drops his weapon immediately and the weapon dissipates into lightning. *Damn I got caught off guard, he's good, but tricks like these are nothing*. "I'll admit, you got me there, dog. However, this will be even more embarrassing for you once I defeat you without my weapon nor my right hand." The bone lights up and disintegrates into dust, Adon inspects his wound,*all that work and I come out with a bloody hand, no more spear then huh, not used to left hand wielding, I'll just have to knock him out with blunt force.*

The undead jeered at Adon, Harvey was fighting a hopeless battle against the unending waves of ghouls, zombies and skeletons; fighting desperately to defend his dragon  companion. *I wish I could help you Harvey, I really wish I could.* Adon looked up at the ceiling, Gawfy still pinned by the arm but looking wide awake ready to decapitate Embalmus. *I can't help Harvey but I can help my old ally.* Adon swiped his hand through the air and with a shockwave of lightning, the skeletal arm was cut cleanly from one side to another. The rest of the arm followed suit, freeing Gawfy from his restraints and back with a vengeance.

Gawfy felt The Pressure let off of him and Kicked off of the ceiling he Launched His broken Body toward Embalmus's off hand Skewering it with his blade. Gawfy barely got his blade out before the jackal Threw him away from him. Gawfy crashed into the wall Near Harvey. When he Stood Up Gawfy's Left arm was ponting backwards and right leg was pointed in a 90 degree angle. He Let out a Yell and both Limbs Twisted violently with a nasty cracking sound. Only his bones where fixed. The Flesh could wait. Gawfy's Armor ran red as he tore through a Horde of undead. Flesh tore and bones smashed as gawfy Swung Almost hitting harvey a few times. Gawfy made his way to Adon. He Looked at Embalmus who was preparing another Volley Of Whip strikes. Gawfy Stood in front of adon Clashing With the whip heads.Iron meeting Iron They clashed lighting up the Room in a dazzling display .A show fit For a queen. If one thing was made clear after seeing Gawfy in this form for this long one wouldnt think he was Human.

Samara frowned at the fight enveloping before her. Not because she was feeling threatened but because so far they had only been able to annoy Embalmus. She had hoped they might have been able to push him back a little, but even that was not happening. She shouldn't have been all that surprised though, he was her ultimate creation after all.

''Embalmus my sweet, try to use a little less power.. otherwise you might end up breaking your toys.''

She couldn't help but smirk as they tried to cast down her undead. It seemed they didn't quite realize that the undead were constantly remade through her magic. Her necromancy was so powerful that it had become a passive effect, constantly raising new undead, no body was even required, just a small strand of DNA and enough raw materials to do it. This is why some undead had gold parts or even stone.

When Gawfy seemed to lose control she merely furrowed her eyebrows, quite amused by the humans sudden surge in power. But SHE had designed Embalmus, she MADE him. As long as she lived, there was no way he would ever falter. After all, he was designed that way. ''Strike at my right hand all you want, he will strike you down ten times as hard.''

She turned her attention to the door Embalmus had closed, noting how an increasingly large swarm began forming outside. Figuring Embalmus wanted a quality fight, she dismissed the lesser undead with a wave of her hand, sending them scurrying into the corners of the structure, leaving everyone alone. She however, did bring in her elite guard, some of her much stronger and more potent undead that the group had seen before, with bird, crocodile and jackal heads. As they began forming, around ten of them formed into Samara's body guard unit, while the rest continued to support Embalmus. These would prove a lot more difficult to cast down.

''I'm surprised you prefer fight over flight, then again... I often overestimate mortal intelligence.'' she laughed, looking down at the group from the top of the stairs.

[(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si3C1EtGo4c) <---- Embalmus theme]

Embalmus snorted snorted at the lightning man's arrogance as he tried to keep pace with him in a melee duel. His moves were fast and powerful, sure, but he was pathetic in the face of the ultimate undead. This man's body tired, grew weak as more and more of his soul was extracted from his body where his undead form had infinite stamina and his soul was immortal! The jackal easily ducked and weaved under each and ever stab and slash the man attempted to make with his spear, surprised mr. sparky over here actually considered himself a threat, especially in the dead-zone arena he had created only a moment before. Embalmus OWNED this battle and the sad part was that these little mortals couldn't begin to comprehend the amount of magical and phyiscal might he had been restraining up till now. A lightning bolt stuck his face, perhaps deadly to beings of this plane, but to him, it was merely a little static. the smoke cleared and as the man hung in the air mid-flip, the jackal raised his staff, ready to cast down this pathetic fool with his death magic, but the voice of his lady halted his spell-casting. She requested he use a bit less power instead of more lest he shatter his supposed toys. To be perfectly honest, the command frustrated the ancient undead general. He wanted to smash these bugs now as the were really starting to get on his nerves. However, who was he to defy his creator, goddess and queen?

"Yes, my lady." He called back, clearly unconcerned enough to not give his full attention to his enemy. As the man landed away, the bone that he had sent to impale the man's head shot up from the ground, but apparently, the lightning guy was faster and ducked out of the way only to lose his hand in the process. He attempted to taunt the general again and Embalmus just looked at him and laughed. He WAS embarrassed... embarrassed that his first real fight in over 1000 years was a complete and utter joke! It was like having chips as your first meal in weeks! Sure it tasted good, now, but it was just as wasteful as well. A little less power? Fine... Before the one-handed lightning man attempted to discharge his power into the skeletal arm, it retracted itself first, allowing Gawfy to go out and play with the local skeletons. His attempt at his soul-drain hand was for naught, however as he was EVEN slower than this guy in front of him. The jackal simply stepped to the side JUST out of range of his swing before the guy lost whatever sense he had and delved into the hoard of sentient bones. What. a fool.

Embalmus returned his attention back to the lightning man, apparently ready to take him on both one armed and unarmed. What fun would it be to squash him if he simply drained the rest of his energy through his Soul Drain? They didn't have enough soul left to back up their bluffs in any conceivable way so their talk was just that. With a snap of his massive fingers, the soul fragments in Embalmus' hands disappeared, then reappeared in front of his lady Samara, ready for her to tamper with at her leisure. The staff in the Jackel's other hand disappeared as well, leaving him just as unarmed as the man who dared to stand before him.

"You are either very brave or very stupid, mortal." He growled, but there was a minor tone of respect in his voice. "Tell me your name so I know who I'm killing."

Harvey was completely invested in keeping Soma safe, regardless of what was happening around him. Despite the great destruction that was caused by each of the jackal's attacks, he had little to no reaction to them. He even remained almost completely oblivious as Gawfy crashed into the wall beside him and began to mindlessly cut down the army of undead, coming very close to ending the detective's life a few times. No, Harvey focused all of his energy into making sure that his partner was still alive, constantly checking for signs of life. Slowly but surely, though, both his and Soma's life energy continued to drain away. The dragon's life functions- most notably, his breathing and heartbeat- would gradually slow down over time until, eventually, they came to a complete halt. In denial, Harvey waited for what seemed like an eternity for something- anything- to happen... but it never did. He had no choice but to accept the obvious conclusion.

Soma was gone.

There was no shortage of people that Harvey could have blamed for causing such a thing to happen. He could blame the huge monster for casting the spell, the tomb queen for ordering for him to do so, or even Avarex for aiding the queen's escape in the first place. Ultimately, though, he just blamed himself. After all, he had also played a part in allowing the tomb queen's power to be release, whether he'd intended to or not. If only he'd solved the mysteries of the tomb earlier, or figured out what Avarex was planning, this whole event could have been prevented. Not only had he been oblivious to what was really going on, but he also lacked the power to make any meaningful difference in a fight against the undead. Considering the fact that the undead simply reanimated after being slain, and that the monstrous jackal could easily hold his own without even using his full power, it looked like there was only one way that this could end... nobody was going to leave this place alive.

Noticing that the soul drain spell had been interrupted abruptly, Harvey looked up towards the tomb queen and made note of the soul fragments that had materialized in front of her. His energy was no longer being drained, but the spell had already done its damage. There just wasn't enough strength or willpower left in him to stand up and continue fighting. If he didn't do something about it, then he would eventually fall to the newly summoned elite guards. Gently placing Soma's body on the ground beside him, Harvey reached inside his jacket and pulled out a pistol. There was probably only enough time to fire off one shot before he was cut down by the elite undead, but that was fine. One shot was all he needed.

Again, Harvey stared upwards at the tomb queen, his face now completely devoid of any emotion. One might think that he intended to take a shot at her, but instead he slowly placed the barrel against the side of his own head. If it was his fate to perish in this tomb, then he wasn't going to let it be at the hands of the undead- it was going to be on his own terms. This way, he could at least have some closure, even if he was going to be reincarnated shortly afterwards. For whatever reason, it felt like this was the right thing to do... no, it was what he had to do. Seemingly stalling for something, Harvey continued to gaze into the queen's eyes for a moment before giving the faintest of smiles and pulling the trigger. The sound of the shot reverberated throughout the tomb, shortly followed by a thud as Harvey's body collapsed beside Soma's.

Gawfy was Chopping Bone and flesh to bits when he heard a Boom. The Ringing in his Ears brought him back to reality. The Crimson glow dissipated from his helmet as Gawfy rushed over to Harvey, The dead almost avoiding him on his way there. He got there but he knew him self that he was already dead. Gunshot wound in his head. Gawfy Ran his hand over Harvey's eyes and but his dragon friend next to him. He turned to the Woman watching all of this.
Why Gawfy Stood up. Why kill him? All he wanted to solve a mystery, And you killed him for it, If we where truly Greedy we would have taken the Valuables when we could have. But we didnt, HE didn't.  Hell Me and Adon just wanted to make sure no one got hurt. He pointed at the Woman. Are you really Fit to lead a nation, Or an entire world If you are going to be this petty? Gawfy kept his back turned to Embalmus. He actually did want to hear her answer, but Gawfy just assumed she would attack him out of spite if Embalmus didn't already attack him.

Samara seemed to observe Harvey and Soma for the longest of moments. She wasn't particularly known for caring, but she did in fact feel that those two may just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Digging through their auras and general attitude she found little that could convince her that these two had any intentions of opposing her. However, before she could even consider sparing them, one of them was snuffed out. As promptly as Soma had died she plucked his soul from the sky. Her Sphinx was more then just a prison, it was her royal palace, it held magic beyond that of mortal understanding, one of such magics was that it did not allow souls to pass on without Samara's consent.

She eyed Harvey as he pulled out a gun, half expecting him to take a shot at her. She wouldn't have blamed him. Of-course, he'd be chopped in half by one of her elite guard without achieving anything. But at-least he would've died knowing he stood defiant against a god. However, he soon perplexed her as he pressed the barrel against his own head and.. pulled the trigger. A loud bang echoed through the sphinx as Harvey feel lifelessly on the ground. It would've caused any normal soldier to turn and look, but her undead were unhindered, continuing their endless march.

She felt a sense of pity, that was at-least, until Gawfy opened his mouth. Turning her attention to him, she laughed loudly. ''I killed no one, your inability is the reason he died, the reason your friends will die.'' she promptly turned her attention to the soul crystals Embalmus had summoned moments before. She knew what this meant, what he wanted.. And that, surprised her. Luckily for him, she had found the candidates.

''Rudimentary creature of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, you cannot even grasp the nature of my existence.''  she smirked ''I impose order on the chaos that is your primitive civilization. You exist because I allow it and you will end because I demand it.'' she paused ''I will take away all your flaws by making you into undead servants.'' She extended her hand toward Soma and Harvey, their lifeless bodies floating toward the crystals. The crystals split evenly among Harvey and Soma merged with their bodies, their eyes growing a bright red before diminishing as they were infused with Samara's darker powers. Then, she dragged their souls from the sky, smashing them back into their respective bodies.

Gently, they floated back down, Soma landing in Harvey's arms. ''Witness this sliver of my power and know that I am beyond your mortal limits.'' she flicked her finger, life surging back into their bodies. Their wounds healing, the bullet that took Harvey's life falling back to the ground as it was forced out of his skull. ''Harvey and Soma.. you will assist Embalmus in destroying the interlopers.'' she, although they had yet to rise again, knew they could hear her.

Samara's orders were the first thing that Harvey heard as he woke. He slowly sat upright, stretching a little as if he had just awoken from a long sleep. It was as if he was completely oblivious to what had just taken place, as he observed his surroundings with a somewhat confused look on his face. Soma also started to stir, crawling out of Harvey's arms and casually flying across the room to the man's discarded sword. Not hesitating in the slightest, he picked up the sword in his mouth and flew back, returning it to its owner- pretty impressive, considering that the thing was bigger than him. Harvey, who was preoccupied with observing the lone bullet lying on the ground, instantly turned to Soma when he returned. Smiling, he accepted the weapon and turned to Gawfy, gesturing towards him with the blade. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but he was sure of one thing: he couldn't be allowed to live. He was more sure about this than he had been about anything else in his life... well, maybe 'life' wasn't the right word.

"I don't expect you to understand, but this is where you have to die. Whether you choose to fight or not, just know that I'm not going to let up until you fall. You'd do well to prepare yourself."

Pretty polite, considering that he was essentially issuing a death threat. His tone was calm as well, like he was simply having a regular conversation. However, it was clear that he meant every word he said, and that he was ready to act on them at any moment. The man took on an offensive stance, prepared to lunge forward with an attack. His partner hovered passively next to him, gazing intently at Gawfy as he searched for a weakness. They both waited until they deemed that their newfound enemy was prepared to fight, immediately springing into action. Harvey dashed forwards with incredible speed, slicing at Gawfy's neck. Soma hovered slightly over the battle, waiting for the best opportunity to strike.

Upon hearing this Gawfy's Crimson glow started to come back He started to get angry that his comrade would just switch sides so easily. Gawfy lost consciousness  as somthing else took control of his body  His helm glow was more vibrant than ever before as he Let out a Warcry. His wolf helm's Jaws bit down on the blade as Harvey sliced for his neck. Gawfy's Body then Sliced in a full 180 Degree arc. Gawfy Didnt seem to pay the dragon much mind.

Breathing heavily, Adon answered, "My name is Adon Morrowitz." He proclaimed. "As my toughest adversary thus far, I would like to know your name as well. I grow sick of addressing you as 'dog'." Although he didn't exert himself too hard, Adon still finds himself substantially winded on top of the disablement of his right extremity. He glances at Samara, a swirling orb has appeared in front of her, presumably his and his comrades' souls are trapped inside the orb. Slowly running out of options... he sets an extreme ultimatum.

Adon can tell from Embalmus's lack of interest that he wasn't taking this battle seriously."So you think this battle is a joke then? Well, you must be just as curious as I to find out just how durable a being like you can be. If you allow me to retrieve the part of my soul taken from me... I will personally show you how oblivion feels. If not, then I'm sure I still have more than enough juice left in me to disintegrate you where you stand. Do you accept the challenge?"

Sparks crackle at Adon's fingertips of his left hand as he begins to charge up his attack. The golden armor serving as an medium for conducting and enhancing the energy flowing into his hand. What were sparks a moment ago have expanded to huge arcs of lightning whirling from his palm. The arcs strike randomly in the barrier, obliterating any solid object in its wake. Unfortunate undead soldiers observing the battle away from the fire zone turn to dust in the blink of an eye when struck. Golden light accumulates around Adon to a point where one would strain if they wish to look his direction. The ground underneath Adon cracks and shakes from the intense energy buildup. The barrier surrounding him and the jackal threatening to shatter, unable to keep up with the intensity whilst taking a beating from the lightning strikes. Adon pulls all the power he can from every pore and every orifice. His face straining and beaded with sweat from keeping the escalation of power in control. At last, a grandiose bolt, about double the length of Adon's height was formed. The air around the bolt becomes intensely hot and dry. Adon raises it high preparing to hurl it straight at the jackal, pumping the last sparks through his body straight into the bolt. It glowed brightly in the relative darkness of the mausoleum. All other sounds deafened from the crackling. "Brace yourself, there will be no way for you to evade this."

Adon launches the bolt. Thundering at lightning speed straight towards Embalmus.

"I am Gravekeeper Embalmus." the Jackal growled, clearly unamused with his following comment. "You will serve us. You will feel death's embrace." Purple lightning began to course all around him, the smell of necrosis now heavy in the air. He was about to strike the man down with all he had before this Adon presented a challenge to test his durability. Embalmus stopped right there, immediately intrigued by what he had to offer. No, he didn't expect him to actually follow through with his threat of decimation, but what Embalmus was looking for was... an approximation of how powerful he might actually be. The Jackal was confident in his strength and by no means doubted his durability in any way, but pride was always one of his more.... imperfect qualities. Perhaps he was playing into Adon's hands, but he was a fool to provide the opening in the first place. Embalmus did not move and, instead, spread his arms to either side of his body, opening up his torso for assault. He couldn't have moved anyway, as his queen was standing right behind him. Even if Embalmus was confident in Adon's weakness, he couldn't afford to take the chance that she would come to harm. And so, the Jackal waited and watched eagerly as the the electricity coagulated in his opponent's free hand. Subtly and far less grandiose, the undead was channeling his own energies, focusing them into his body as an extra means of defense. A sickening purple aura glowed around his massive form, the intensity of which growing by the second, gradually taking the shape of armor akin to that of an exoskeleton.

Adon hurled the massive bolt, it's speed truly impressive, perhaps even beyond Embalmus' hopes at matching. Perhaps. The bolt struck his chest, drilling into his magical fortifications faster than the general had expected. It seemed the attack was far more concentrated than it appeared! After a moment of clashing between magics, the concentrated electricity pierced his body, running half-in and half-out of his form, holding steady as the volts arced into him. Then, the bolt exploded, enveloping the undead in a pillar of electricity that shot right through the gold confines of the sphinx, likely blasting its way into the skies as well.

So... this is pain....? The Jackal wondered as one of his eyes shattered in its socket. Its been so long... What a delicious feeling... Lightning arched from the Jackal's massive body, jumping from undead to undead, roasting their bones to mere ash and dust but Embalmus refused to let the electricity progress beyond him. A goddess will not be touched by mortals! The Jackal roared with agony before a massive explosion ripped through the chamber, enveloping all in a seemingly endless dust cloud. before Adon would even be able to react (most likely given his drained state and the surrounding cloud), Something would snake out from dust and wrap itself around his good arm, holding him in place. As the cloud cleared, Embalmus was still there with his whip in hand, on one knee and with and eye busted, his right arm roasted to the bone and a hole through his center still bubbling with heat, but he was still there. Shakily, the undead general got to his feet, coughing up something black and chunky, probably what used to be his intestines. No matter... no matter... he didn't need those anyway. With a jerk of his whip, Embalmus would tear off Adon's working arm, the one that impaled him upon that spire of lightning. The Jackal snorted in finality before several bone-spikes shot up from the sand, impaling Adon in several places within his stomach in chest (once again likely unable to move with his power drained so intensely). With this fight ended Embalmus would stagger up to his defeated opponent, staring down at him not with hatred or disgust, but with a sort of grim respect.

"Yes." He growled. "I did think this battle was a joke. But you were a worthy opponent and changed that. I honor you by giving you the greatest reward I can bestow: Second life." The whip in Embalmus' hand disappeared before he pressed his hand to Adon's chest before pulling it away slowly, ripping out his soul from his body (or what was left of it), studying it's shattered remains before pouring his necrotic magic into the core of his being, forcing his will into him, but also solidifying Adon's power and existence. With a snort, the Jackal forced the soul back into Adon's body, a brutally, mindlessly painful experience as the body twisted and contorted, twitching before coming to a rest. Adon would wake up as if he had from a night terror, self-aware and concious of his position as the first of Embalmus' personal contingent.

"You. Serve. Me." Each of the Jackal's words drilling into the newly resurrected Adon. "And through me, you serve Lady Samara." The bones slipped from the lightning-man's body, freeing him to pick up his spear yet again. He would find that his wounds quickly healed, even a new arm growing in the place of the one he had lost.

"All you had known before is meaningless. You will obey. Kill The only remaining living being." Embalmus pointed towards the knight dueling the newly resurrected Harvey. "Kill him. Obey."

Thunder rumbled and lightning streaks across the now visible stormy sky. Adon's attack spiraled into the heavens destroying the roof of the sphinx in its wake. "To feel the refreshing rain before I die,"he smiles. There was no doubt about it, the final strike on top of the soul drain was too taxing, he can barely move himself much less fight. A lightning bolt strikes him where he lies, his whole body disappearing in golden light. Bones protrude out of the light but all he felt was a slight tingling from where he was impaled. All that's left is a pile of glowing armor and the remains of a soul.

But the soul is all Embalmus needs to reform Adon. The body slowly recreated back into existence, necrotic energies pouring into the newly formed body. Feeling returns into his body, all senses reawakened and strength in muscles returning... but something feels odd. The lightning running in his blood shunned the necromancy but could not expel it, forced to share the body with an unwanted guest. Like a jigsaw puzzle, the armor flies back into place, but Adon is in the midst of another transformation. Through the visage of his helmet, one would expect to see his face but now, all one can see is darkness as if the suit of armor were hollow. Adon rises slowly, yellow and purple lightning crackles around him as if battling to gain control. His spear materializes back into his rejuvenated right hand. Rain continues to pour but pure water no longer, droplets fell as acid rain as if reflecting the current state of it's beholder, pure yet also corrupted. Embalmus was the first voice to speak to him, declaring that he now serves Samara. His loyalties are now to the Queen and the Jackal though following orders was not the first thing on his mind.

"You wish for me to end this mortal, but he is currently engaged in combat with another adversary. As much as I would enjoy striking down this mortal, intervention now would be grossly dishonorable and as your second in command I would hate to dirty your image as the right hand of Lady Samara."

After seeing the Lightning and the Hole That was made Gawfy's mind, or lack there of Moved to Escape. He Jumped into the first layer with sword still and hand. Second layer of sand Moving to repair Gawfy Hopped past it. Almost to where the rain was coming from Purple lightning struck gawfy's Head. He still moved but his Right Eye Wouldn't open after the strike. Gawfy felt a spear Pierce his Left arm with more force, as if it could pull him back down. So close to the last layer he Didn't think as he took his sword and Severed his Left arm at the elbow. With that he could hear that jackal that woman and the demon laugh as he left arm Hit the ground. He Flew out of the hole and pounced in the sands away from that Place. His left arm was bleeding heavily as he fled. Thinking how the hole stayed open and the Rain. They let him go after they took his eye and Arm.

Surprised by the extreme power that Gawfy's armour displayed by stopping his swift attack, Harvey was stunned for a second as the strength of the strike vibrated violently throughout the sword. There wasn't much he could do to follow up on the attack, considering that the blade was stuck firmly in the jaws of the helmet and that his enemy was now throwing out an attack of his own. He swung his huge sword in a very wide arc, leaving Harvey no choice but to back away until the danger of being struck had passed. As such, he leapt backwards with agility that easily surpassed that of a regular human's. The blade, still unable to escape the grasp of the insanely powerful armour, shattered into several pieces as it was torn apart by two supernatural forces. This development was also pretty surprising; apparently Harvey didn't know his own strength. In any case, the sword in its current state was now useless, so he cast it to the ground and instead decided to rely on his strength alone.

Gawfy, on the other hand, seemed to have other ideas. An escape route had finally presented itself, and he wasted no time getting over to it as soon as humanly possible. He managed to escape from the tomb, with the hole repairing itself immediately afterwards and erasing any chance of following after him. All this came at a price, however, as he ended up having to sever part of his arm in order to secure a successful escape. Harvey's eyes remained locked on the arm as it fell to the ground next to his shattered blade. It was certainly a terrible sight; how could someone make such a huge sacrifice in order to avoid achieve their true purpose? Then again, Harvey couldn't really blame him. After all, he'd been pretty desperate himself before he'd gained the knowledge of what really mattered. Frowning, he crossed his arms and looked over the sword as Soma reclaimed his usual position. Clearly, he had a lot to learn about his true capabilities now that he'd been reborn. Maybe there was more to his power than he was aware of, something that might have allowed him to complete his mission instead of leaving someone on the brink of death. For now, though, he would just have to accept the fact that his first task had resulted in failure.

Embalmus was initially enraged at the newly-resurrected Adon's disobedience as he refused to go after the escaping knight. Never-mind his reasons, this creature has defiled the tomb of their mutual goddess and he would slow the purging process because of his own personal pride. Such a thing would not be tolerated! Normally. No doubt the reason for his failure was due to the inferior make-up of this realm's beings. It made sense, especially when one looked back at how well their fight went just a moment ago: completely one sided and the jackel was only using around 10% of his full potential. Now that he was undead, he may have been better than he was, but Adon was still far less than his previous second. Not to mention his failure on his first mission wasn't doing him any favors. Embalmus glared down upon the undead knight standing beside him, figuring Adon should feel lucky his soul wasn't blasted into oblivion.

"Your pride and honor are quite valuable." He conceded, his voice a threatening growl. "However, you do not serve yourself anymore. You are a part of a goddess' vast army, my second in command. Lady Samara knows that what I do is for her sake and by her orders only. If she finds my actions unfit, she will discipline me. If you cannot fulfill the role I gave you and live up to the distinct privilege of the life I offered, I will take it away like you were a child. Do I make myself clear, Second?" He hissed that last word with venom only a demi-god-level undead general could spout. It was at this point that Harvey and his dragon would return, not dragging the body of Gawfy behind them. No... he wasn't dead... he could see it in their eyes and Embalmus knew they had failed as well, another testament to the inferiority of this dimension's undead. It wasn't as if he questioned or critiqued his lady's craftsmanship! On the contrary, he admired her work with his own artistic eye, often present and smiling as she created something newer and more deadly. No matter the beauty of a statue, however, it will always remain inferior with inferior materials. The Jackal didn't chastise the returning pair as they actually went out and tried (unlike Adon), and instead, just gestured for him to follow with his index finger. Embalmus knelt low at the base of the stairs, on to of which where Lady Samara stood as elegant as ever.

"My lady... One of the knights escaped, though he was heavily damaged." The Jackal relayed, speaking as if he were delivering an after-actions report. "Shall we go after him, my lady, or do you have something else in mind...?"

Samara looked upon the battle, watching the trespassers struggle, as a result, two fell and bought that defeat with their lives, now eternally bound to her will and that of her most trusted minion. She was surprised at Embalmus' resurrecting the one he fought, he seemed to annoy him at best, a fly buzzing around a giant. But she didn't question him. In millennia, he hadn't even moved an inch without her consent, why would he now? besides, if he thought him valuable enough to keep, then she wouldn't argue.

She looked down at the now free of hostile presence sphinx, her gaze as neutral as ever, not showing any sign of joy or anger. She simply stepped down a few stairs, but made sure she still stood over her subjects. The un dead guards she had summoned quickly left the room, as they didn't need addressing, they worked through her mind, her will was the only thing driving them forward. But the others that remained still had some form of free will, though their lives were now all hers.

Turning her gaze to Embalmus she simply shook her head ''What can one broken man do against an army.'' she simply stated ''What will he say? An undead army amasses in the desert? Nobody will believe him.'' she turned her gaze to the roof, which was now once again fully repaired. ''I need to focus on expanding my army.. in the meantime..'' she looked back to the group in front of her. ''You will be drilling a hole back to our own dimension, Embalmus.'' she rose her arms, fingers coiled as if grasping something heavy. Before long, the entire structure began shaking, before it eventually rose to its feet, the massive construct coming to life as it let out a roar. Not just for show, the roar commanded the dead to arise, thousand of hands shot up from the sand, pulling themselves up and began following the Sphinx as it slowly made its way deeper into the desert.

Within, the group felt little of what happened, save for the thumping of the Sphinx's feet. ''The portal you will be creating will need to be large, enormous even.'' she stepped back up on the stairs, the sarcophagus she had rested in now forcefully being reformed into a throne, which she plainly fell into. ''Questions?''