Beowulf - Curse of the Dreygurs - Chapter 12

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Chapter 12

Appa pushed Sebbi, his thegn, forward after giving the man a torch. He ordered him to find the back of the room. As the man tried to find a path through the bodies, Appa stooped down, looking closer at one creature.

“Those are the monsters we fought alright,” he said amid the growing tension. “I have a bad feeling about this place. Those things were nearly indestructible before.”

“We were told by an old farmer to behead the undead bodies,” Beowulf reminded them. “If so, it should be easy while they sleep. Still, we will have our work cut out for us.”

“But how can we be sure? Just because a cursed villager says this? How do we know they are speaking the truth?” Sebbi’s voice tremble and his eyes were wide with fear swept his torch in front of him.

As Appa’s supporter neared the back of the cavernous room, he carefully stepping past a small pile of recent human remains. Beowulf noticed Appa’s glare focused on Sebbi for speaking up. Appa quickly ordered the man to remain quiet. Beowulf shook his head while he and the rest of the group carefully stepped deeper into the tomb.

Suddenly, a blast of wind raced down the tunnel, howling like a wounded animal. The air whipped its cold lash throughout the honeycombed vault. Instantly, the tomb plunged into pitch-black darkness when the torches’ flames blew out. The men began cursing in the echoing chamber while those holding the smoldering torches tried to relight the stems they held.

“What is that?” someone’s high-pitched voice cried out above the din.

“Curse the gods. It’s just wind,” Beowulf growled. “Become a warrior!”

He pulled pieces of flint and iron from the small bag attached to his scabbard. While he tried to relight his torch, he noticed a glowing blue light at his feet. Looking around, he caught sight of more blue lights coming from the chests of the corpses. Beowulf went to a knee and reached out to touch the orb of light on the closest body.

“They’re alive. Help me,” Sebbi suddenly screamed out.

Immediately, a heart-rending screech of painful death filled the chamber. Beowulf rose to his feet, swiftly pulling his sword.

The shocked thegns watched in growing horror as several dreygurs surrounded Sebbi. His silhouette struggled briefly in the dim blue light. However, the initial sight deceived them. The monsters were tugging the Angle’s body apart. However, they had no time to pause as the rising horde of undead attacked the living.

Appa hurried away from the fight. As he headed to the crypt’s tunnel, two dreygurs cut off his path. Ida’s son backed into the wall as the monsters came at him. He swung his sword, only to have his strike deflected by the undead’s rusty sword.

As another dreygur attacked, Weohstan came to Appa’s rescue. His sword tip pushed into the helmet as he barreled in from the side. He pushed the creature into the other beast, which allowed the king’s son to escape certain death. Weohstan sliced through the monster who attacked him again.

Across the cavern, Beowulf remembered the words of the old farmer in his fight. He whipped his sword at the undead monster’s necks. Their skeletal heads tumbled across the floor. Beowulf stepped across the armor covered bodies which lay in a heap. However, he struggled as more of the creatures joined in the fight. The Geat leader pushed and hacked his way through more of the beasts. Soon, the foul air of the tomb filled with the raging sound of steel upon steel and the grunts and groans of men. Using their wooden shields for defense, the thegns gathered into a crude formation by closing together. They tried to fall back to the crypt’s entrance. However, the swarming mass of undead cut them off.

The dead creatures still held some intelligence as they quickly formed a staggered line. They surged forward with their rusted swords and shields. Those monsters without weapons used their formidable animal-like jaws and clawed hands to strike at the living fighters.

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