As they prepared to break camp the next morning, Atheria turned to Xander with a serious expression on her face. "We can't leave yet. Not until we've dealt with that Rivernix."Xander, who was rolling up their makeshift bedding, stopped and looked up at her, confusion and reluctance mixing in his expression. "Wait, what? Why the hell not? That thing nearly took a chunk out of us last night."Atheria paced a little, her gaze fixed on the river where they had encountered the creature. "Think about it, Xander. If we leave it alive, it's only a matter of time before someone else runs into it. And not everyone will be as lucky as we were. Plus, the damn thing's existence here is poisoning the water, killing the ecosystem. We have a chance to stop that."Xander threw his hands up in frustration. "And how do you propose we do that? Last time I checked, that thing could dodge arrows and swords like it was nothing. And it's not like we can just ask it nicely to fuck off and die.""That's where

By the fourth day of their relentless trek toward the Cold Mountains, the landscape had shifted dramatically. The once dense forests had given way to open, windswept plains, and the mountains themselves loomed ever closer, their peaks shrouded in ice and snow. The weather had turned bitterly cold, a sharp contrast to the relatively mild conditions they had left behind.Xander, wrapped in as many layers as he could manage without impeding his movement, was visibly miserable. Every breath came out in a frosty cloud, and he kept rubbing his hands together in a futile attempt to generate warmth. "I hate this," he grumbled, his voice muffled by the scarf wrapped around his face. "Why couldn't these damn monks live somewhere tropical? Somewhere with sun, sand, and maybe a nice beach."Atheria, leading the way with a map in hand, couldn't suppress her amusement at Xander's discomfort. "Oh, come on, Xander. A little cold never hurt anyone. Besides, think of it as... character building," she t

As the trio continued their ascent towards the monastery, nestled high in the Cold Mountains, Erik began to share more about his mission, revealing the depth of his purpose with a gravity that hadn't been present in his demeanor before."You know, I wasn't entirely truthful when I said I was just out for a stroll," Erik confessed, casting a glance towards the towering peaks above. "The monastery sent me on a specific task—to investigate the magic corruption spreading through the land."Atheria and Xander listened intently, the humor from their earlier conversation giving way to a more solemn attention."Corruption?" Xander echoed, his voice laced with concern. "So, it's worse than we thought?"Erik nodded gravely. "Much worse. It's not just isolated incidents. It's a blight, spreading faster than we anticipated. The elders at the monastery have been having... visions, prophecies of sorts.""Prophecies?" Atheria asked, her curiosity piqued. "What kind of prophecies?"Erik paused, choos

As the undead horde drew nearer, Atheria quickly assumed the role of tactician, gathering the monks around her for a brief strategy session. Her voice was calm, but carried an undercurrent of urgency. "We need to hold them at the chokepoint, where the path narrows. It'll bottleneck them, make them easier to manage," she instructed, pointing to a natural formation in the landscape that would serve their purpose well.One of the monks, a younger man with keen eyes, nodded in understanding. "And what of their numbers? If they overwhelm that position?"Atheria met his gaze with a steely one of her own. "Then we fall back in stages. Use the terrain to our advantage. The monastery has defenses; we lure them in and use every trick we have. But first, we thin their ranks at the chokepoint."Meanwhile, Xander, leaning on his conjured blood sword, shared a lighter moment with Erik. "You know, with all these undead around, I was kind of hoping to get a drink in before the fight started," he jo

As the battle raged on, the undead giant, a behemoth of bone and dark sorcery, towered over the ragtag group of defenders, its eyes glowing with malevolent light. Xander, his fangs gleaming under the sickly moon, stood at the forefront, his muscles tensed and his senses heightened to a preternatural degree."By the gods, that thing's uglier up close," Erik quipped, clutching the glowing medallion tightly in his hand, his eyes scanning for the source of corruption amidst the chaos.Atheria, nocking an arrow to her bow, glanced at Erik with a smirk. "Focus, Erik. Your humor might be the death of us yet.""Ah, but what a glorious death it would be," Erik shot back, his eyes twinkling with mirth even as he prepared to sprint into the heart of danger.Xander, meanwhile, turned his gaze to the giant, his voice a low growl. "Let's tear this bastard apart. Atheria, cover me. Erik, find that damn source."With a roar that split the night, Xander leaped forward, his blood sword conjured in mid-