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The Barrow-downs, in the deepest valley of the Willow River's upper reaches.

Following the map Tom had provided, Kael journeyed upstream along the Willow River until he arrived at this desolate place. This was the source of the Willow River, nestled in the very heart of the Barrow-downs. Perhaps because of Goldberry, the suspected river goddess of the Willow River, its source remained untouched by the dark forces that plagued the Barrow-downs, a lone sanctuary in a corrupted land.

From here, the Great Barrows were not far. After a brief rest, Kael left the sanctuary of the valley and ventured into the barrows proper. The sky above the downs was perpetually shrouded in dark clouds, the mountains cloaked in a thick, unnatural fog. Even during the day, no sunlight pierced the gloom, and no birdsong broke the oppressive silence.

Though the Barrow-wights were less likely to appear in the daylight, Kael remained vigilant. To guard against any surprises, he cast a Shield Charm upon himself. With his wand, the charm was far more potent, upgrading from a simple invisible shield to a full-spectrum protective barrier. Ordinary attacks would no longer trouble him. Thus, even as he ventured into the lair of the wights, he possessed a degree of confidence.

The Barrow-downs had once been the capital of the Kingdom of Cardolan, after the fracturing of the great Kingdom of Arnor. As Kael walked, he passed the ruins of ancient cities and colossal, broken stones, remnants of a forgotten age.

In the Second Age, after the downfall of Númenor, Elendil, one of the survivors, had established the Kingdom of Arnor in the lands of Eriador. In the year 861 of the Third Age, Arnor had split into three kingdoms: Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan. The capital of Cardolan was here, in the Barrow-downs. In the year 1409, the Witch-king of Angmar launched a full-scale assault on Arnor. The Prince of Cardolan was slain defending the capital, and the kingdom fell. A great plague followed, and the Barrow-downs were transformed into a lifeless, desolate wasteland. The Witch-king had twisted this land with his dark power, turning the noble dead in their tombs into his minions—the Barrow-wights—and establishing his stronghold upon the downs.

For over a thousand years, even the bravest adventurers had dared not venture deep into the Barrow-downs. Passing merchants and travelers would never risk crossing at night.

Kael walked for about two hours and finally saw his destination: the Great Barrows. This was a hilly area dotted with massive stone tombs, the final resting places of the princes and nobles of the Northern Dúnedain. They were mostly simple, unadorned stone burial mounds, now shrouded in mist, dilapidated and decayed, exuding a chilling, ominous aura.

Suddenly, the surrounding mist churned, growing thicker. Kael instantly went on high alert, his wand ready. Before he could react, a dark shadow burst from the mist, attacking his back with incredible speed.

Bang! The dark shadow collided with an invisible barrier, the immense recoil sending it flying. Kael spun around and finally saw the attacker. It was a tall figure, clad in tattered, decaying armor, its eyes glowing with a sinister, eerie light. Its dry, gray skin was stretched taut over its skull, and it exuded an aura of pure evil and death.

It was a Barrow-wight!

Kael was startled; he hadn't expected the wight to be so fast. If he hadn't preemptively cast the Shield Charm, he might have been successfully ambushed. The wight, its first attack thwarted, charged at Kael again.

This time, Kael was prepared. He raised his wand and chanted, "Petrificus Totalus!" The spell struck the charging wight squarely, and the creature instantly petrified, its movements frozen.

Looking at the petrified wight, Kael dared not be careless. He commanded his twin cleavers to slash fiercely at the wight's neck. "Clink!" The cleavers sparked. "Hiss!" Kael gasped. Though Tom had warned him of the wights' resilience, he hadn't expected them to be so tough that even his cleavers couldn't penetrate their flesh. Undeterred, he continued to control the flying knives, chopping repeatedly.

Under the dense assault, the wight's neck finally sustained an injury, revealing black, decaying flesh and pale bone. But before Kael could rejoice, a black mist surged from the wound, and the injury rapidly healed at an eerie speed. At the same time, the petrified wight suddenly regained its mobility. As if sensing Kael was a difficult foe, it didn't attack again but darted into the mist and vanished.

"Damn it!" Kael cursed under his breath. He had encountered the Old Man Willow's magic resistance, but how could a Barrow-wight also possess such high resilience? He estimated that only four or five minutes had passed since the Petrificus Totalus had hit the creature. Being able to break free so quickly, Kael knew this trip to the Barrow-downs would be fraught with difficulty.

The wight disappeared into the mist and did not reappear, as if it had left. But Kael did not relax his guard. He could feel a pair of malicious eyes staring intently at him, waiting for the slightest opening to strike again.

The next moment, the mist surged, and the wight rushed out again, this time wielding a greatsword. Its speed was almost imperceptible; it instantly closed the distance, raising the greatsword high and slashing down at Kael's Shield Charm. The greatsword, emanating a black mist and a palpable sense of ill omen, instantly cleaved through the barrier, much to Kael's horror.

Seeing Kael's terrified expression, the wight revealed a ferocious, triumphant grin, as if it already foresaw tearing him apart and feasting on his blood. But in the next second, the wight crashed into another, stronger barrier and was violently repelled. Before it could recover, Kael's spells came one after another.

"Impedimenta! Petrificus Totalus! Expelliarmus!"

The Impediment Jinx slowed the wight's speed significantly. It was then hit by Petrificus Totalus and frozen in place, and finally, the greatsword in its hand was disarmed by Expelliarmus, clattering to the ground.

Having learned his lesson, Kael wouldn't give the wight another chance. He cast more than a dozen Petrificus Totalus spells on the wight and also used the Leg-Locker Curse for good measure. With so many spells binding it, the wight wouldn't be able to break free for at least an hour.

After securing the wight, Kael turned his attention to the greatsword. It was this weapon that had cleaved through his Shield Charm. If he hadn't, out of an abundance of caution, layered his defenses, he might have been seriously injured.

Kael used magic to levitate the greatsword, examining it from a safe distance. The sword radiated a malevolent aura, a curse. Anyone who touched it would undoubtedly suffer misfortune. Kael looked at the greatsword, then at the petrified wight, and a sudden idea sparked in his mind.

Since ordinary weapons couldn't harm the wight, what if he used this cursed blade against it?

With a whoosh, the greatsword flew through the air, piercing the wight and leaving a large hole in its chest. The wight's aura weakened considerably, and the black mist lingering around it faded.

"It works!" Kael's eyes lit up, and he quickly continued his assault. With each stab, the wight's aura dwindled, and its dry, gray skin began to fester and fall off.

With another beheading strike, the wight's head separated from its body. Accompanied by an unwilling, guttural roar, a thick black mist erupted from the wight's body, shooting skyward before exploding and dissipating into the air. The wight's body, as if its support had been cut, collapsed and rapidly decayed, leaving only a pile of white bones.

***

(End of Chapter)

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