50 Incorporeal enemy

When Jess woke up, Finn was still sitting nearby, but the fire had burned out.

"Ah you're awake! Good. I'd like to take a look at where the fight happened and if our enemies had anything worth keeping." Finn jumped up and began stretching.

He had been a little stiff after several hours of sitting. It was boring, but he made use of the time by practicing his mana manipulation, and exploring his new bloodline ability.

Jess got up, and stretched her sore muscles. The fight had been extra strenuous due to the necromancer's curse.

"Hey Jess, check this out!" Finn said as he held out his hands for her to see. As Finn concentrated, a dark energy filled his hands. His skin became tougher and hie nails grew a bit longer and sharper.

Extending two fingers, Finn sliced at a piece of his tattered leather armor with his nails. It was only a thin piece of leather so it was cut right through. "Any thicker and it won't do much, but stabbing works too! Look!" Finn poked the same piece several times demonstrating his newfound ability.

"Impressive, maybe you should learn some unarmed combat techniques when we get back to the guild." Jess nodded along as she gathered her gear. "I'd be careful using it though, bloodline powers can be a little unstable and dangerous to the user."

"Good point, I don't like the idea of losing control." Dismissing the power, Finn's hands returned to normal in seconds. Picking up his crossbows and other equipment, Finn waited for Jess to lead the way.

The ruined building they had stayed in was right next to where the battle had been.

Climbing the stairs, the returned to the scene of the battle. Everything was just as they had left it. They split up to check for anything useful.

"I'll check the necromancer", said Finn, he also wanted to see what he had done.

Jess nodded and checked the bodies of the summoners. Th one on the roof had nothing of interest that survived the fire, but she found a wand and pouch with spell materials on the other wizard down below. She recovered Finn's bolts while she was at it.

Finn was disturbed by the state of the necromancer's corpse, and quickly rummaged through her things. Her potion had fallen out and smashed during the fight, and her staff was missing. She only had a few coins and gems apart from her spell pouch and Finn guessed was her spell book.

Opening up the pouch, Finn was grossed out by what was inside. Worms, still wriggling , small bones, spider eggs, and some yellow powder that smelled like rotten eggs. He couldn't identify the rest so he closed it again.

Opening the spell book to a random page, Finn hoped to find something interesting. Instead, as soon as the book was opened, it released a horrifying scream that made him drop it. The sound didn't stop, instead it continually went higher in pitch, until it was more of a screech.

Covering his ears as he dropped to his knees, Finn suppressed the sudden headache that assaulted him. Crawling over to the book, he slammed it shut before breathing out a sigh of relief. The screaming stopped, and Finn sat there panting as he waited for his ears to stop ringing.

Jess ran up the stairs to check on Finn after the screeching stopped, but relaxed when she saw it was under control.

"That was pretty dangerous Finn," she said when she heard his explanation. "You can't just open a stranger's spell book! Who knows what kind of traps or enchantments they have put on it."

"Got it, I'll keep that mind." Finn agreed.

They showed each other what they had found, but there wasn't a whole lot they could use. "What happened to her staff?" Finn asked, it was probably magically enchanted.

"Used it as firewood while you slept. Why?"

"I thought it would be worth something," Finn rubbed his head.

"It was enchanted with me romantic powers, so I thought it best to get rid of it."

"Never mind then, what did you find?"

Jess gave Finn the wand and showed him the rest. "Oh and I found this too." Jess said, then she pulled out a small silver card.

Finn examined it as he turned it over in his hands. A purple symbol glowed faintly on one side of it. The other side had a small rune with a tiny magic stone and some text Finn couldn't read.

"What is it?" Finn asked, giving it back to her.

Putting it away carefully, Jess explained. "That... is a student identification card. It seems that at least one of these three was a student at the magic university."

"Does that help us?" Finn asked.

"I don't know, maybe I can turn it in for a reward. Keep the spellbook, but bind it shut. We can use it as proof of completing the mission."

"I have a few more of these fire starter things, how about we burn the bodies." Finn suggested. "Might be better if they don't find the bite marks."

"Sure, burn that pouch of nasty stuff too, we don't need it." Jess added.

A few minutes later, Finn had insured his secret was safe. They left quickly to avoid choking on the gross smelling smoke.

"You up for a little more exploring?" Finn asked as they headed to the center of the ruins. Not waiting for Jess's answer he continued, "let's check out the rest of these ruins before we head back."

"Sure, I'm ok with that." Jess Seemed more relaxed than previously now that the necromancer was dealt with.

When they arrived at the altar, Jess finally saw the devastation Finn had caused. "How did you do that?" She asked.

Finn was also surprised, "I just fired a crossbow bolt at a shiny bottle that seemed to be the focus of the ritual. The giant runes became unstable and before I could get far, the whole thing went out of control."

Searching the site, they found many shriveled undead. Poking them with a sword caused them to disintegrate, leaving little more than empty husks.

"Looks like the ritual absorbed all the essence and vitality of these bodies." Jess commented as they found a few more.

"I think the ritual must have been using the undead as a source of energy." Finn said after breaking the twentieth husk. "I saw six undead on the altar, but something was being sucked out of them at a steady rate."

"Negative energy! The necromancer probably switched out the sacrificial bodies whenever they ran out!" Jess exclaimed. "So If it wasn't an army she was making, what was the ritual for?"

Finn suddenly stopped in his tracks and held Jess back. "Look!" He whispered and pointed near a pile of rubble. "That's the bottle! I thought it would have broken in the explosion!"

"Something is standing near it," Jess noticed the reason for Finn's behavior.

"Yeah, but what is it?"

"Looks like some kind of semi transparent undead, but I'm not sure what kind." Jess said hesitantly.

"So, probably related to the necromancer then. Let's whack it!" Finn said and started sneaking forward.

Leaping through the air, Finn aimed both of his blades at the figure's neck. Swiping both his arms in an X shape when he got close enough.

Instead of the feeling of resistance when striking down an enemy, Finn suddenly felt awkwardly off balance. There was no resistance at all, and Finn fell right through the body. The experience was weird and uncomfortable, like running through a spider's web combined with a cold draft blowing down your neck.

Passing through the ghostlike creature startled it and it faced Finn with clear hostility. Getting a closer look, he noticed the creature was actually similar looking to the necromancer he had just killed.

The difference was soon obvious though as the ghost version suddenly swiped at Finn with its elongated claws.

Finn was quick to react and held his daggers up to block the attack. Too his surprise, that didn't help at all as the claws passed through them.

"Rip!" More of Finn's armor was torn off by the ghastly claws. He had managed to dodge with a quick sidestep when he realized blocking didn't help.

A familiar murmuring interrupted Finn's thinking and he smiled. Taking a few steps back he closed his eyes.

"Caeca fulgos!" Jess yelled as she pointed her wand at their incorporeal enemy.

A bright light blasted out of her wand forcing the ghost backwards. Shielding it's face with its claws, the ghost hissed in pain but was otherwise unharmed.

"Leave this one to me," Jess said as she strode forward confidently. "You need magic to hurt this one." She put away her wand a held her bastard sword with two hands. Channeling her mana into it, the sword gleamed with magical power.

"Alright," Finn stepped back before looking around for the bottle.

The ghost recovered quickly when the light disappeared, shrieking angrily before swooping towards Jess. Although it looked like it had legs, as a ghost it could just fly freely.

Swinging her sword, Jess slashed through the ghost. Unlike Finn's daggers, the glowing sword cut of the ghost's arm. The force of the blow sent the ghost tumbling backwards as it shrieked in pain.

Floating up again the ghost steadied itself. To the two adventurers' dismay, the ghost's arm formed again at a visible speed.

"Finn, I need you to find that bottle fast, and destroy it!" Jess said hurriedly. "I don't know how long I can hold this thing off."

The ghost swooped down again after it had regenerated. This time Jess used the flat side of her her still glowing sword to swat the ghost away. The blow connected solidly, and sent the ghost spinning into the distance.

Now the ghost was really angry, and when it approached again it used a new tactic. Floating out of reach, the ghost pointed a finger at Jess before firing off a pale blue beam.

Jess was ready and dodged to the side quickly. As the beam passed her, she could feel a hair raising cold energy radiating from it.

"Found it!" Finn yelled suddenly. He was holding up the cracked bottle triumphantly.

The ghost immediately turned to face him and swooped down to attack.

Panicking, Finn threw the bottle to Jess before narrowly dodging the claws.

Jess, caught it with one hand before whacking it hard against a rock. It didn't break, but another crack formed causing the ghost to shriek again.

Frowning, Jess put the bottle down before swinging down with sword. The arcane strike using her full strength was super effective, shattering it into tiny pieces.

Almost instantly, the ghost seemed to implode on itself with a final shriek before dissipating harmlessly. The broken shards glowed blue for a while, releasing a smoke that formed many faces. The faces seemed to be sighing in relief, smiling peacefully as they too dissipated.