Chapter 10
The cold wind bit at their exposed skin as they entered the deserted graveyard. The only sounds they could hear was the wind howling and the rustling of the few bouquets of flowers left near freshly dug graves. Linvail had informed them that the guildhall rested beneath a tomb on the far side of the graveyard. Every step on the stone tiles leading to the tomb echoed throughout the lifeless district. Spotting the tomb in question, Kalen turned to her, as if checking whether she was ready. Offering his hand a small squeeze in reply, they walked together towards the tomb, with their human fortress following close behind.
They stood there for a short time in front of the door Linvail described, attempting to muster the courage to enter and do what had to be done. Nodding to him that she was ready he reached out his hand and pushed open the stone slab of the mausoleum. At that moment a cold, inhuman voice spoke behind them. Spinning around instinctively, they saw the cruel, soulless face of the vampire they encountered in the docks, along with two other blood-drinkers. Drawing his sword, Kalen charged towards them, quickly followed by the enraged ranger. Drawing upon nature's strength, she ran in after he lover, determined to defend him, no matter what the cost.
Linvail had provided them holy water for killing these beasts and it was obviously providing some help as their doused blades seared through the creatures' immortal flesh. However, despite their enchanted weapons the blood-drinkers' wounds quickly began to heal. She was quickly realizing that they were unlikely to defeat these three vampires, let alone an entire guild full of them.
The battle raged on. No matter how many times they ducked and parried the blows of their brutal opponents, their enemies did not seem to tire. The wounds that they had inflicted were now barely scratches and she was sure that soon they would have to flee, saving vengeance for another day.
Suddenly, Minsc was struck across the face by the razor-sharp claws of one the creatures, dropping him to the ground. Distracted by the ranger's cry, Kalen turned for a moment, providing his opponent with the opportunity to thrust a claw deep into his stomach. She watched in horror as Kalen cried out in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his chest in agony. The vampire's hollow, mocking laugh echoed throughout the graveyard as it paced around his helpless form, teasingly delaying the killing blow.
Striking her opponent as hard as possible she desperately tried to fight her way back towards her love, but to no avail. The creature was only momentarily stunned by her attack; leaving her no opportunity to save Kalen from his imminent execution. Tears began to run down her cheeks as she frantically reached into the pack on her belt for something to aid him. A potion. A throwing knife. Anything.
Bone. Reaching into her pack, all her fingers could find was the touch of bone. The hollow bone flute, which she'd carried since they found it in the dungeons beneath the keep. The Danse Macabre. The item which had instilled terror in Ribald and haunted her dreams.
Allies from beyond;
A price more than life itself.
Breathe carefully,
For you may wish that breath no longer.Allies. She then realized that there was only one way to save her beloved, and taking out the ancient flute from her pack she placed it to her lips.
Suddenly, the air was ripped out of her lungs. The ground began to shake and human and vampire alike where thrown to the cold stone floor. Suddenly, mist began to form around them and a haunting melody began to echo around the lifeless graveyard. Giant cracks started to form in the earth, releasing an unholy wail. The sound was too much to bear and even the blood-drinkers held their hands to their ears, trying to block out the noise.
Then, out of the ground, skeletal hands reached upwards, clawing their way out of the earth that held them. Covered in chunks of rotting flesh and wielding rusted, blackened blades, these undead warriors seemed unaffected by the shaking ground and she realized it was them producing the deafening noise that paralyzed them all. A final moan came from the crater of shattered stone, and a flesh-covered creature began to rise out of the ground. She stared in horror and wonder at the foul creatures forming in front of her, terrified of what evil she had released through the flute's ancient magic.
The flesh-covered creature finally stood there in its entirety and stared at her with its rotten maggot-eaten eyes. It was at that moment she realized the full horror of what stood before her. They had buried him only a few feet from where they stood and she hadn't realized it. She'd be so concerned with Kalen and revenge for Nalia she hadn't noticed that they'd passed his tomb on the way. The tomb they buried him in only a few months ago. Standing before her was the rotting, reanimated form of her husband, Khalid.
She couldn't watch. She couldn't look at what she'd done. How she'd defiled the memory of the man she'd loved for so long. She closed her eyes and could only listen to the unholy shrieks as the vampires were slaughtered by the undead warriors. Tears flooding down her face. She couldn't bear to open her eyes and see the monster that stood before her. The unholy abomination that was once her husband.
Minutes passed and still she knelt there, trembling, unable to do anything but cry at the thought of what stood there in front of here, awaiting instructions. And then she heard the sound she had dreaded. The raspy, undead mockery of his voice:
"Jaheira..."