60. The Tower 11

"Then we will rest here for a few minutes and then go and take care of them." Novum could feel the negative energy of the creatures as a cold wind from above him. This was going to be a hard fight if he could feel them.

The group sat down and rested with Topaz keeping guard on them. She had not had to fight yet and was well rested. This was a horrible fight for any type of thief to be in. They usually snuck around and distracted or attacked from behind, aiming for vital points and doing extra damage. The problem this time was that these creatures had no vital points. True she had already done her job so far and done it well but she still felt a little left out given how close she had grown to this group of people.

They pulled out some rations and the mages went into meditation. They might not be able to rememorize the spells from earlier but they should be able to mitigate the mental strain from using spells. Not only did a caster of any type have to have the knowledge and magical energy to cast the spell but they needed to have the mental fortitude to channel all of that energy. Normal casting is not a problem but casting a lot of spells in a short period could put a strain on them to the point they could not channel spells that they still had to power stored for. It was a fine balance that took experience to learn.

After about an hour Novum looked at the group and figured that it was time to go. "Okay lets keep the same formation up to the next floor. Based on the layout the grand hall should be at the far end of the hall after we get to the second floor. Also keep in mind that there might be a room or two after the hall were they would usually store ceremonial things. I have a feeling that only one is going to be in the main hall and the last one will either hide in the small room and make us find a way in or they will try and sneak attack us at the last second. It might be willing or is probably more than willing to destroy its minion to destroy us."

"Based on the negative energy that is in this place there are higher chances that both of the two remaining creatures are mages. Berry you are probably going to need to be on your toes in there."

"I understand. I might be able to do what I did earlier but if they are a mage of equal power then more than likely he will be able to dispel it. But that will still cost it magic."

"Don't try to pin it unless you are sure that you can hold it. You have to waste extra spells to hold it and there is no use in wasting the energy that we might need later."

"Understood Novum. I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve that might be of use to us. Topaz walk with me as we head up. Need to talk to you about something." Topaz moved beside her and Novum was not worried about the two of them. He just started up the stairs and looked back to make sure that no one was left behind.

As the progressed down the hall, Novum checked all of the doors and each room opened up with ease. Once they checked and there was nothing in them, nothing that could be a threat anyways, they shut it and moved down the hall. They could look for valuables on the way out. Finally the came to the big double doors at the end of the hall.

Crystal put her hand on Novum's shoulder, "it is like you thought. There is one of them in this room and the other seems to be further away. Though he may still be in the same room. I can't feel the walls."

"Thanks." Novum took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. There was a vampire staring at him from the other end of the hall.

As soon as they entered the room a voice boomed over them. "You dare to come here and kill my minions. Who sent you?"

Novum immediately answered. "No one sent me. This tower is on the bottom on the lake on the property that I own and it is leaking energy out and affecting the local animals."

"Hahahahaha, seems like the mighty mage that trapped me here is not so mighty. His pitiful barrier is leaking. No matter, I will convert you into my followers and with this new strength I will take my revenge on the pitiful creature above me."

"So you are trapped here?"

"For now. I can't get out of this area. I was the leader of a nice village and my power was enough that anyone that came through would give me whatever I wanted. It was an easy life. But then he showed up and my magic was a joke to him. I couldn't do anything, then that bastard brought us all in here with the lives of our families being held as leverage. He actually bound my magic to this damned bench. But he did not know that, that act of dismissive behavior actually made me even more power."

Berry spoke up. "So you used the link he formed and made yourself into a lich. You did not even have the power to do it yourself. Hahahahaha so pathetic."

Novum was surprised by her rash words but then he realized that her words were not that rash. He knew that one thing that every mage, living or dead, needed was a clear mind and focus to use its magic. If she could throw him off it would give them an advantage.

"ENOUGH! We will see how you laugh when I skin you alive and then heal it back and do it again. You will wish for death a thousand times before I raise you back as an obedient slave."

"Yeah says the lich hiding in his little room. Sure thing tough guy." Berry was not letting up on him. Crystal gave her a look and Berry gave her a wink and got ready for a fight. It was about that time the Crystal noticed that she could not see Topaz anywhere. It was then she realized that Berry was acting as bait.

The vampire started pulling its magic together and Erica went on alert. She knew this spell and without hesitation she put her magic into the exact same spell. Her goal was to send as much of her energy as she could at the spell and hopefully it would not fall to far on his side of the power gap.

The vampire release the small ball of fire and it flew towards the group. Erica flew out less than a second later on a direct line towards the other ball. They were not going to hit exactly but the nature of them being the same spell seemed to pull them together. The two spells collided for just a second and spun in the air. They blended into one spell and started back towards Novum and Rurik. The spell exploded at its original target but the power was reduced enough that is did not even cause the two heavily armored fighters to move.

"So I can limit his fire spells to a small extent but anything other than that and it is going to have to be Berry. He is stronger than I am."

Novum quickly asked, "can you tell how much stronger?"

"A few levels. Based on the way my fireball reacted to his he can probably use spells one level higher than mine. He might be able to cast a single one two levels higher but that will take a lot of his energy."

Even knowing that she would have to face a lich later Crystal sent out some of her divine energy to limit or even control the vampire. If she could use enough energy the vampire would be weakened to the point that it would not be a hard fight. She felt the negative energy that the vampire gave off and then paused as soon as it touched and did not send any more energy out. The vampire turned and looked at her and she just smiled.

Novum saw the vampire look towards Crystal and moved closer quickly. He wanted to be in the threat range of the creature while it was distracted. Coming in could leave him open to an attack and given the strength of the creature he did not want to give up an advantages. He brought his sword down in a huge sweeping arc and the vampire sensed it at the last second and moved just enough to be out of the way. The tip of the sword tore through the robe the vampire was wearing was how close the blow came.

The vampire stepped back out of the range of the sword and then used its speed to launch a counter. Since he had become a vampire his strength was on a level that a mage like him would never experience without his magic suffering had coursed through his body. He smiled as he finally got to release that full power on an opponent. His blow landed on the middle of Novum's exposed chest as he could not get his shield in line and the vampire expected him to go flying. The shock on his face was real as he saw Novum take a single step back and looking none the worse for wear.

Rurik saw the blow on Novum land and quickly closed the distance on the other side. He was not worried about Novum but he did not want to wait the opportunity. But just like Novum he underestimated the speed of the vampire. He charged forward and attacked and the vampire moved out of the way but still maintained his balance and before Rurik who was still off balance from overextending his attack could get his feet back under him the vampire kicked him. The blow did not do much damage but it threw him through the air, directly at Novum. The collision sent both of them to the ground.

Given the distance between them the vampire went straight into a spell. Since it knew that Erica would hinder any fire spell it switched elements. With the two of them in the heavy metal armor would be ideal targets for a lightning spell. He started pushing his energy into the spell and just as he was pulling the energy together he felt the cleric's divine energy pushing on him. It was not a lot but it was enough that like a juggler with several balls in the air getting bumped that was almost no chance of regaining control.

Crystal saw the spell that the vampire was pulling together and knew that it would be trouble. She knew a lot about magic and she also knew a lot about the undead. If this had been a mortal caster then she would not have bothered but given the situation she knew that she could nudge the thing and disrupt its spell with as little of her energy being expelled as possible. She saw the vampire turn and glare at her and knew that she was about to be its next target.

Berry had been at the back watching everything and saw what was about to happen and went into her own spell. She knew that Crystal could take care of herself but why risk it. She sent a barrier up between Crystal and the vampire. Crystal felt the energy so she did not attack but the vampire in its anger could not focus. It threw itself at Crystal and bounced of the barrier. The blow made the creature a little dizzy and Crystal call out. "Berry."

As soon as Berry heard her name she knew what Crystal wanted and canceled the spell. Crystal closed the distance between her and the dizzy vampire in a moment and slammed her mace into the side of the things head. The blow staggered the vampire and before it could clear its head from the second blow a third blow landed and its fell to the ground. Crystal slammed her mace one more time and most of the skull fully collapsed. She saw the vampire starting to turn into gas and dropped her mace and pulled something out of her pouch and crammed it into his mouth.

The gas quickly solidified and the vampire bucked back and forth for a few seconds then fell still. Everyone else was looking at the vampire. Berry came over. "Crystal what was that thing?"

"Oh those are some wafers that were developed by the Hammers a couple of years ago. They are to the point now that they are sharing the recipe with some of the other churches. We got a few of them and I tinker a bit with potions and the like, so I copied the recipe and made a few to test them out. Seems like it works."

"FOOLS! Now I will kill you all."