//------------------------------//
// Baldur's Gate: Danger of the Crypts 
// Story: Dark Alliance: A Kirin's Tale 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

It took them some time to reach the bottom of the stairs, though when they got close to their next destination Rain found that it was far darker than what she and her companions were used to, causing Kromlech to keep his battleaxe at the ready as everyone else followed his lead. A few seconds later she found that there was some light, in the form of lanterns that had to be near the end of their life span, given the size of the flames inside them, before glancing down at the floor they were heading towards, where she paled instantly. There were corpses moving around, staggering from place to place, and while it confirmed that someone was messing with the natural forces of the world, bringing back the dead for some odd reason, and it even applied to those who had been dead and their bodies had been reduced to pure bones. Adrianna informed them that they were seeing zombies and skeletons, since she had no idea if they knew what they were looking at, and she told Rain and the others that there were enchantments that instantly struck down the undead, which they didn't have.

With that in mind Rain and her companions lashed out at the undead as they reached the bottom of the stairs, where Vahn switched to his sword as he and Adrianna dealt with the zombies, leaving her and Kromlech to smash the skeletons to bits with their weapons. She suspected that the decision was based on the fact that one of them was using a battleaxe and one was wielding a staff, heavier weapons in the grand scheme of things, since they did break down the skeletons that were in front of them as their companions dealt with the fresher undead. When the first group of enemies were dealt with they discovered that there were far more in the following chamber, which made sense due to the fact that they were in a crypt and there was no telling how many people were buried down here, so the group repeated their previous tactic. Rain had to wonder why in the world there was a passage from the sewers that lead into such a place, even the thought of the Guild using it to rob the dead didn't make a lot of sense, and guessed it had something to do with whatever they were planning.

The most disturbing thing was that the fresher zombies could, at times, break the upper parts of their bodies off from the ruined lower half, the legs and waist area, to crawl on the ground to tear the living down, causing Kromlech to cut off their heads, stopping them in their tracks, but before they could think about that the group found a man in some robes to the left of a doorway they walked through.

"What are you four doing down here?!" the man exclaimed, where Rain assumed he was one of the priests that had been mentioned when she talked to Ipswitch earlier, though his words caused them to stop for a moment so he could explain himself, or at least she hoped so, "You have to run, now, before that dreadful thing changes you!"

"Before what changes us? Explain yourself." Vahn replied, though he made no motion to use his weapon, in fact all four of them carefully put their weapons away for the time being as Rain kept an eye out for any zombies or skeletons, since she could see another doorway that they could burst through at any moment.

"I... am Fayed, a priest of Ilmater, and it's my duty to tend to the crypts and perform burial rights, but now... now I fear that I shall be the next one to be changed." the priest said, where he calmed down after realizing that they weren't here to hurt him, though it was easy for them to see that he was still on edge about whatever had happened before their arrival, a fact that caused him to sigh for a few seconds, "Into the walking dead... surely you saw them to reach this point? Some of them were my brothers and sisters, all slain by the very dead that we were tending to and raised into undeath by a power that radiates from that foul orb I discovered in the Chamber of Ashes. With the dead walking, on holy ground, I did what I could to seal off the lower level from this one, to prevent the undead from escaping into the city above, but, as you can see, the power of the orb has reached this far, meaning it's only a matter of time until they kill me and escape into the city."

"It would seem that the courier we were after has completed his terrible mission." Rain commented, which was sad when she thought about it, that so many people had to die because of whatever the Guild was currently planning, meaning they had to be taken down to keep the remaining people of Baldur's Gate alive, "Can you tell us how to get to the lower level and this 'Chamber of Ashes'?"

"Yes. The trap that sealed the exits on this level is triggered by three urns, which are now no longer on their pedestals," Fayed stated, showing that, while he was frightened of the prospect of becoming an undead creature, and attacking those who were around him, he was willing to help them because he knew they might be their best shot at defeating the orb and putting down this foul assault, "return the urns to their pedestals and the way down into the lower crypt, and the Chamber of Ashes, will open. Once you get that far the four of you will have to fight your way to the Chamber and destroy the orb, hopefully before the wards and gates that prevent the undead from escaping fail on us... if that happens I have no doubt that Baldur's Gate will fall."

"You should get out of here while you can, as there's a way into the sewers behind us and, eventually, there's a way up out of the sewers beyond that." Adrianna said, as he was frightened by what was going on in the crypt and that meant he might be more of a hindrance, and even if he didn't come with them there was always a chance that one of the undead might get by them and kill him, so she was trying to save his life.

Fayed, as they expected, stated that his place was here and that he'd do anything to help them, causing the group to sigh for a moment as Vahn agreed to let him tag along, but when the fighting started they made sure he knew to stand back and not get involved, in the actual fighting anyway. Based on what Rain recalled having a priest in the group was a good thing, since it meant there was someone who could mend their wounds and ensure that they were ready to go for whatever was down in the crypt, even if this was just a temporary set up. While they were less interested in treasure right now, since their focus was on the Orb that the courier had brought to this place, Kromlech asked Fayed if it was okay if they looted the chests that they would no doubt come across, causing the priest to think about it. His answer, as it turned out, was that it was fine, since there might be something in one of the chests that could help them out in their quest, though when Rain asked about the location of Ipswitch's brother he said he couldn't recall where he had been laid to rest, which wasn't a big deal right now.

As they started to explore the rest of the crypt, by passing beyond the chamber that Fayed had been hiding in, the group found more skeletons and zombies stumbling from place to place, in addition to spirits of the dead, who didn't seem even a tad bit interested in them. With that in mind they repeated their prior strategy on the enemies in front of them, due to the fact that it worked out so well when the group first entered the crypt, while making sure not to take on too many enemies, as there was an ensure crypt to explore and clear out. Fayed did his best to lend them whatever aid he could, restoring their energy when they became exhausted or mending the wounds that the undead left in their wake, as Rain found that some of the risen had more fight in them than others and actually hurt them while they cut them down. He also asked her what she was, since this was the first time he had seen someone like her, and she had no information to share with him, because her memories seemed to be gone, or maybe she didn't have any to begin with.

Rain also reflected on how terrifying this was, that the Orb's power was able to reach so far, since the Chamber had to be far below the city based on how far down they had gone so far, and could only imagine the damage it could have done had Fayed not done what he did.

One thing that helped them out was the fact that there was a trail of footprints on the ground, which Fayed confirmed as the ones he had tracked to the Chamber of Ashes, meaning it was easy for them to see where the courier went and where he didn't go, not that it mattered too much since they were planning on clearing out all of the undead. All of the coffins on this level were open and even smashed in some cases, showing that the undead were growing in power if they were able to break metal and stone, not that such a thing bothered her companions as they hacked into the undead and burned a few of them in some instances. With four of them fighting the zombies and skeletons, and Fayed watching over them with his healing abilities while even calling out where an enemy might be in case they hadn't noticed it, Rain figured that they would be able to reach the Chamber of Ash in no time. The only good thing was that it looked like the spirits were totally peaceful and not aggressive, like those who had no bodies couldn't be returned and were simply wandering while many of them either waited for something to enslave them or the magic was dispelled.

As they moved through the crypt, however, Rain discovered that the urns they needed to move into place were nowhere to be seen, though when she mentioned it to the others Fayed informed them that the three urns were inside the final chamber of the level, something he realized he should have clarified before this point.

Of course they did have to take a break every now and then, as there were far more undead than they assumed, even for this part of the city, which confirmed Rain's earlier thoughts about them overrunning the city had Fayed not sealed all of the paths leading up to the surface. While they did that she also seemed to awaken something inside her as she seemed to call vines up out of the ground, which wrapped around some of the more fleshy undead and locked them in place, all so they didn't get overwhelmed. Fayed noticed it and asked her if she was, perhaps, a druid in training, causing Rain to tilt her head for a moment, as this was news to her since she had no idea what type of people there were in the world, but, as she expected, Adrianna came to her aid and told him that they weren't sure. What they did know was that she was working on being a hero of the city, just like they were doing by taking the fight to the Guild, and that they were sure that she would no doubt figure out her path while adventuring with them.

Eventually they found an undisturbed coffin that had a necklace on it, the one Rain was looking for to help the man in the inn she had talked to earlier, where they made sure there were no traps as she claimed it, as she figured that they could turn it in when they returned to the tavern later. The four of them also fought their way through the final chamber when it came time to do so, taking down all of the undead that were guarding the three urns, where one appeared to have a more corroded copper color, another was brass, and the third was either silver or ivory. Once their foes were taken care of the group turned to Fayed as he told them where to place each urn, as the copper one was to be placed on the left, the ivory urn in the center, and the brass one on the right. The pressure of the three urns allowed them to open the locks and push the lid back into position so they could head down into the Lower Crypt, though before doing so the group decided to use a recall potion to return to the inn to restock before the next leg of their journey.

It would also give Rain a chance to turn in the medallion and help the poor man out, not to mention let Fayed take a break before delving into the lower part of the Crypt, since he insisted on helping them with their mission, causing her to look forward to what might happen when everyone was ready to go.