Bone Powder

Located on the south side of the valley is the entrance to the mine.

In front of the entrance there are a series of cabins as well as a building a little larger than the rest, all these structures were made of wood and the wear and the passage of time was noticeable.

The building that stood out was the communal hall, which was in the center of the small settlement.

After a long and difficult day in the mine, in the afternoon the workers gathered in the communal hall to sing, drink, exchange stories and generally have a good time in a humble way.

In total there were 8 workers at the Gelhorn mine.

The mine was linked to the town of Gelhorn, a small human settlement located in a small valley in the gloomy mountains, south of the Duchy of Riverland.

The town of Gelhorn, being a border town founded by pioneer peasants, does not have a local noble lord, but is considered under the jurisdiction of the Duke of Riverland who in turn designates a mayor to serve as a local authority, but being a small border town the Duke himself does not waste his time with the activities of this place, instead the peasants themselves designate who will be the mayor through a majority vote.

The Gelhorn mine has never yielded the fruits the Duke expected of it, and the small, intermittent vein of gold is becoming increasingly rare as they move deeper into the mine.

For this reason, the administration of the Duchy of Riverland has designated the Gelhorn Valley area as a place of no interest.

The mine workers supplement the poor performance of the mine by obtaining meat and skins by means of traps and they also manage to sell the best fragments of semi-precious quartz that accompanies the gold to the jewelery manufacturers.

Over the years, fewer people join the mining operation, preferring to engage in safer and more lucrative jobs like agriculture.

Only the hopeful few who are currently at the mine continue to operate.

These hopeful miners keep clawing at the rock until they get rich or find a way to abandon it without having to hide the shame on their faces from wasting years in the mine.

Focusing all his attention on the skeleton in front of him, Jim did not notice another skeleton behind him.

Flanked, the skeleton behind Jim made a deep cut in his back causing him to fall to his knees.

Slowly his sight blackened as he lost sensation throughout his body, the weight of the beak was too much for his hands and unable to hold it he fell to the ground.

He was dying.

Jim was never someone religious, since he considered himself a skeptical person, but in his final moments, he raised a prayer for anyone who hears him saying "Please, I don't want to die."

The last thing Jim saw before falling into deep darkness was a figure clad in shining armor of the whitest metal.

"An angel," Jim whispered as he closed his eyes.

♦ ♦ ♦

After seeing the scene unfolding before his eyes, Zark's orders came quickly.

"Eliminate the skeletons," he said.

Those simple words coming from Zark were necessary to bring his companions into action.

The swift Nyos, possessing the highest initiative, made a quick run and with a single jump rose 9 meters into the air, drew his needle-like sword and plummeted onto the battlefield.

With a downward cut he eliminated a skeleton, with his flexed posture after the impact with the ground he propelled himself against another skeleton, which in a lunge was eliminated, taking advantage of the kinetic impulse of the lunge, he made a slight wrist movement and with it a side cut that eliminated one more skeleton, and finally with a speed similar to lightning, it destroyed two other skeletons that were next to each other.

In less than 6 seconds Nyos had eliminated 5 skeletons, reducing the group from 14 to 9.

Keil raised his great metal shield high and advanced against the enemy formation; each of his footsteps rumbled loudly and he firmly unsheathed his white Mikarta-handled sword and Adamantite guard.

Without even hesitating, and with the force of a train he rammed the skeletons, among them, the one who received the impact of the onslaught with the shield was totally smashed.

The weapon in Keil's hands was a Mithryl bladed longsword, the damascus design on the blade of the weapon revealed similar forging patterns of intertwined rose stems which glowed with a faint crimson light due to enchantments. of the weapon.

That weapon was the 'Maiden Sword' the main weapon of Keil, although not his wife weapon, since that place was occupied by the second sword that was in his belt the 'Qeein Sword' the second best weapon of the Damenburg castle and the Keil's trump card.

With just a slight rose from the Maiden Sword, Keil destroyed two skeletons; and with this, the simple arrival of Keil had caused three losses to the enemy, lowering the number of these to 6 skeletons.

While Nyos and Keil entered the melee combat, Ingrid kept a safe distance with Zark, both observed how Nyos dodged each attack of the skeletons and how their swords were simply repelled by Keil's armor.

"Finish them," Zark pronounced.

That simple order from Zark was enough for Ingrid, she raised one of her hands from which a magic circle emerged and with the simple words of "[Turn Undead]" she released a flash of light which devastated all the skeletons in the area. leaving only dust where they were before.

With that single spell, the dragon girl eliminated the missing skeletons.

Zark nodded satisfied and then uttered "Let's get closer, we're not done yet"

As Keil and Nyos put away their weapons, the three surviving miners reluctantly regrouped, it was obvious that they were nervous as their picks did not stop tuning.

Zark released a silent laugh, he could not judge them, seeing a group of strangers devastate dangerous skeletons was something to take into account.

To avoid future problems, before reaching the place where the miners were, he undid the angelic ring that was on his head which marked him as a celestial and used the [Alter Self] spell to change his eyes from some dregs of darkness with a purple point to normal brown eyes.

Being close enough to him, Zark cleared his throat before initiating the role of generous savior of him.

"Miners do not fear" start "I am Zark Ar Zathot and I come in peace"

The three surviving miners looked at each other, did not respond.

Irritated by this disrespect, Keil took a step with the intention of punishing these beings, but she was stopped when Zark put her hand on her shoulder.

"My Lord?" Keil asked.

Zark simply replied with "No ..." No further words were necessary, since Keil understood.

Noticing the distrust towards his person and his companions, Zark continued with his monologue "Easy good miners, I understand you; a stranger out of nowhere is not trustworthy "he let his words settle before continuing" and even more so when accompanied by escorts of such high capacities "he pointed out to his companions" For this reason I will show you that my words of good will are genuine "

A large golden colored magic circle emerged centered on Zark, from this circle others arose which moved constantly changing their magic symbols every few seconds.

In total there were nine magic circles, the first being the largest was under Zark, another five rotated around Zark while the last three were above him.

From afar it gave the appearance of a structure composed of holograms.

Magnanimously, Zark spread his arms and pronounced "[Cure Critical Wounds, Mass]"

Any injuries suffered by the miners were immediately healed, even the old scars were healed, but not only that had happened...

Slowly from the ground, three figures rose again, three of the four miners who had fallen were rising once more, not as a Zombie or other kind of undead, but again as living beings.

That was the power of a level nine spell, capable of healing even the deepest wounds and healing those on the brink of death.