Reincarnated as a random race, of course I got goblin.

Chapter 38 - Restore

I lead the way as Wilhelma and I search the long abandoned Crypt for the Idol. Utilizing my mini-map, I already know where the exit is, so we just search everywhere but in the direction of that. The air is stale and musty, a distinct odor appearing whenever we disturb the layer of dust carpeting the cobble-stone floor.

Remind me to check Wilhelma for spore inhalation once we get out of here, who knows what kind of mold grows down here. 

*ScanNing: 30 DisTinct SpeCies fOund, tHe spOres of SeveRal oF Them poSe SeveRe heAlTh riSks to hUmanOids.*

Oh boy. Let's pick up the pace. We enter a side room. Most of the corridors within the Crypt have alcoves embedded within the wall, in which coffins are housed. Heavily tarnished copper plates upon the sides of each coffin displays the name of the occupant. 

This room however... The coffins that might have been housed here are reduced to scattered planks strewn about the room. Among the debris, I can make out what seems like scraps of cloth and bits of bone. The smell is... interesting. 

"Oh no! The coffins, the bodies!" Wilhelma rushes over to the one intact coffin in the room.
"... This is the coffin of the last Brother." She reads off of the copper plate. I can sense the faint aura of magic issuing from the coffin. 

"It's in there. The Idol." I tell her, joining her beside the coffin. "H-how?" She asks, bewildered. "Can't you sense it? The Divine?" I ask her, trying to gloss over my mistake. Wilhelma stares at the coffin for a moment, before nodding. "When I focus, I can tell there's something there."

I breathe a sigh of relief internally. "We're going to have to open the coffin to get to it though..." She looks pensively at the floor. "C-could you?" She asks me. "Help me with this side, and we'll get it out of the alcove, easier to open then." She finishes, though I can tell what she really wanted me to do.

We struggle getting the coffin out, but it's not long before it's gently placed on the floor. "Now... I think you know this part better than me?" She looks to me. I hesitate for a moment, finding the words. 

*Dear All-Mother, maY you foRgive me for my acTions, but tHis is neceSSary for the GOod of those tHAt sTill liVe.*

Ah, thanks. I clasp my hands in front of me and kneel before the coffin. "Dear All-Mother, may You forgive me for my actions, but this is necessary for the good of those that still Live." I glance over to Wilhelma, who repeats the prayer after me. 

"Now, we open it." I get up and yank the lid off the coffin. It's a simple design, no hinges, as open casket funerals aren't really a thing in this World, and as such one can just lift the lid right off. Wilhelmina gasps at the sight within. 

The coffin is... empty... at least, it doesn't contain a body. The inside is stained black, the only thing inside it is a fifty centimeter (~19,6 inches~) tall statuette of the All-Mother. It's covered in the same black substance that stains the rest of the coffin. 

I gently take out the Idol. I can feel the faint magic within strengthen slightly when I touch it. "W-where's the body?!" Wilhelma exclaims. I examine the soot-like substance that now coats my hands as well. 

*Solid Miasma - Dark Elemental Magic that has solidified. Often found at sites where Dark Elementals have Spontaneously Generated.*

... D-did the Brother become a Dark Elemental? 

*Possibly, the Dark Elemental Generated around the Idol, consuming or displacing the body in the process.*

I see... I've never encountered Elementals before... What I know of them is therefore limited. "What is the matter, Millibelle? You seem distracted." Wilhelma gently places a hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of my introspection.