As Ryan approached the painting of the troll at the end of the basement, he could hear the faint, ominous hum of dark magic emanating from behind it. The troll in the painting, with its grotesque features and bulging eyes, seemed to leer at him, as if aware of the secrets it guarded. He placed his hand on the canvas and whispered, "Marvolo."
With a soft creak, the painting swung open, revealing a hidden passage beyond. It was dark and dank, the walls lined with rough stone, and the air was heavy with the smell of decay.
"Lumos!" Bellatrix lit her wand and stepped into the tunnel. Ryan followed closely behind, his heart pounding with excitement. The white wolf was following them from behind.
The air was filled with magic and an unusual cold, causing the hairs on the back of Ryan's neck to rise. Each step they took echoed eerily in the tight space, and the smell of blood and decay was replaced by a mix of soil and a faint scent of sulfur.
'Why do they always keep hidden places dirty as fuck? Oh! This nasty smell... It's worse than a rotting body,' He thought with a disgusted expression.
When they arrived at the end of the tunnel, the narrow passage led into a large room, dimly lit by torches attached to the rough stone walls. In the middle of the room was a huge iron cage, with bars that glowed due to protective symbols. Inside the cage, a dragon was curled up, its scales showing a dark, changing color that suggested it was tainted. The dragon's eyes were a bright red, mirroring the torchlight as it looked directly at Ryan and Bellatrix.
'So, you are the source of that dark energy, interesting,' He thought.
It was weak and was barely able to keep its head up.
"Magnificent!" Ryan said as he walked closer to the once majestic beast, noticing the dried blood around its mouth and nostrils. Black tears were dripping from its eyes. As a necromancer, he could feel the Dragon's scarred soul, crying in agony. "Those bastards!" He cursed under his breath as he examined the dragon's condition, "Looks like this poor guy was tortured and fed nothing but weird shits and experimental potions."
The wolf sensing a higher-level creature took a few steps back toward the stairs and stayed in attack position. Its survival instinct kicked in as it faced the unknown.
"Are they trying to create a Dragon Inferius?" Bellatrix wondered aloud.
"Looks like it, but the experiment failed and this guy doesn't have much time to live. Probably a week or so and this beauty will die," Ryan sighed. "I guess, they planned to sell it for a high price since it's skin, bones, scales, nails, teeth... Well, pretty much everything about it is valuable."
"Grrrr!" The dragon snarled as Ryan approached the cage.
"You are one heck of a beast, huh? Retaining your sanity even after enduring so much pain. Impressive!" Ryan complimented the beast.
"Grrrr!" The dragon snarled again as it struggled to move.
"I don't know if you can understand me or not, but I'll give you a second chance. I'll free you from your mortal cage and give you a new life as my undead. You'll become stronger and indestructible. Now, I'm gonna open this cage and you will stay down like a good boy, or you can try to attack me, but the end result would be the same. You'll become mine," Ryan covered his hand with necro energy and ripped out the sealing rune from the cage's lock.
Click!
The cage's door opened.
Bellatrix held her wand tightly as she stood next to Ryan.
The dragon didn't make any move.
Ryan grinned, "Good boy!" He stepped inside the cage. The dragon didn't resist as Ryan placed his hand on its head, his necro energy flowing into the beast's body. "Now, sleep." The cold scales felt rough against Ryan's palm, but he could sense the dragon's suffering as his dark magic flowed through its veins.
"Gruuuu!" The dragon growled weakly as it took its last breath.
Ryan's eyes flashed with a dark glow as he used the curse, 'Servitium Mortuorum!' The dragon's soul rose from its body as it submitted to the necromancer's will. Ryan immediately bound the dragon's soul to its dead body. A burst of black mist enveloped the dragon's corpse and Ryan's necro energy flowed through it as it slowly reanimated.
"Rise!"
The dragon's eyes flashed with a dark glow as it got on its feet, spreading its giant wings as it roared loudly as its body began to mutate further, evolving further beyond what it was when it was in its prime. Its scales, which were once tainted, now had a strange metallic shine, catching the light from the torches and giving an eerie shine in the dark chamber. Its eyes shone with a purple glow, a sharp look that appeared to see through the darkness. Its large, impressive wings spread out, showing surfaces that gave off a soft purplish glow.
"Beautiful!" Bellatrix praised as she approached the newly raised undead dragon.
"Indeed! But this is just the beginning, Bella," Ryan said with an amusing smile.
The dragon lowered its head and allowed Bellatrix to caress its head. It gave a low growl of appreciation at the attention before turning to Ryan and lowering its head in a sign of submission. He touched its head, feeling the cold sensation of its scales on his palm.
"You are unkillable now. May the gods have mercy upon those who stand in our way," He patted the dragon's head affectionately. "Well, time to go into the rine." He activated the space ring's spatial storage function and had the dragon enter the ring. 'Fuck yeah! Just you wait, Voldy. Very soon, I'm gonna make you one of my undeads... Till then, enjoy what little life you have left.'
"Now, let's check out the Heliopath. Bella, a little more light, please."
Bellatrix swished her wand in the air, throwing a big ball of white light at the ceiling, illuminating the entire chamber.
Ryan's eyes landed on a huge glass chamber. He thought it was a glass chamber, but upon closer inspection, he realized that it was actually made of crystals that were grown to form a perfectly sealed container. Inside it, there was a burning wisp, flickering as it morphed into a little pixie at first before turning into another weird-looking creature, somewhat like a wolf. It was constantly changing forms, always burning bright but never dying.
"This thing is...!" Bellatrix exclaimed as she saw the creature.
Ryan nodded in agreement, "Indeed!"
It was the legendary creature that was mentioned in many ancient texts; the Heliopath, a fire spirit. There are no concrete records of whether or not such creatures exist, but some scholars claim that they are manifestations of natural energy caused by the collision of leylines. Right now, before their eyes was a spirit. But the question is, is it friendly?
"We should be careful with this one," Bella warned.
"Yeah, you are right. We shouldn't take unnecessary risks. Let's do some more research on this thing after getting out of here," Ryan said as he activated his space ring and stored the Heliopath inside it.
"Maybe the Department of Mysteries might have something on these creatures? I mean, they do collect all sorts of magical stuff and information, after all," Bellatrix suggested.
"Good point. Well, we aren't in any hurry. Let's take our time and explore the rest of this place," Ryan suggested as he walked around the chamber, searching for more hidden stuff.
"Yes, master!" Bellatrix agreed with a smile.
Ryan gave her that look.
"Sorry. Ryan," Bella corrected herself.
"That's better. Now, let's search this place. I don't see that dragon's egg anywhere." Ryan said as he walked around. "Look around, Bella. Maybe we missed it somewhere."
The two of them searched the room thoroughly but found nothing else except for a few pieces of parchment containing notes about the dragon and some experimental potions. Ryan collected everything and stored them in his space ring.
"Hmmm... Nothing else here. Maybe... Revelio!" Ryan swished his wand, spamming the charm around, trying to find the hidden place. Bella too followed his example and cast the same charm.
"Revelio!"
"Revelio!"
"Revelio!"
"Nothing..." Ryan sighed. "Huh?!" Something felt weird under his feet. He bent down and inspected the floor carefully. "There!" He pointed at a tiny symbol carved on the stone tiles. It looked like a rune, but it was slightly different from the others.
Bellatrix knelt beside him and examined the rune closely. "It looks like an archaic version of the rune for 'open'." She said, tracing her fingers over the carving. "Perhaps it opens a hidden door or passageway?"
Ryan nodded. "Let's try it." He pressed his finger onto the rune and channeled his necro energy into it. Immediately, there was a loud grinding noise as a section of the wall slid open, revealing a hidden compartment filled with various items. "Wow!" He exclaimed as he saw the contents of the secret stash.
Bellatrix gasped in surprise. "That's..." She pointed at a large dragon egg that was lying on top of a pile of gold and gems. "It's a dragon's egg!"
Ryan grinned, "Oh my! Another prize!" He picked up the egg and examined it closely. "Looks healthy. Good! That's good news for us." He stored it inside his space ring together with the other treasures. "Bella, we got what we came for. Let's take those caged animals and get out of here."
"Yes, Ryan!" Bella smiled happily as she followed behind Ryan, leaving the underground dungeon behind.