Utterly Mad

Lydia could hear the clash as several undead attempted the altar all at once, and once again Ferret turned them back with a broad cut from her steel sword. She had a hard time maneuvering the milling horde around her. She thought that they had spiked the doors against the college, but looking at them she thought perhaps something else had been going on in the city. If they had sealed the gates against the college, then why was the chapel filled with so many women and children? Not all of the bodies here were of clergy. The point was driven home as she came breifly face to face with the shambling corpse of an old woman. They had come to the chapel to avoid some fate, but had sealed themselves into one massive tomb instead. She and ferret had disturbed that tomb. It occurred to her then that the streets had been oddly devoid of unlife. She had seen a few small groups and individuals, and Ferret had told her of her own encounters, but even excluding refugees from the disaster there were not nearly enough undead out there. There came another much louder noise, like the toppling of a candlabra. "In fact," thought Lydia, "That's probably what it was." Ferret had probably tipped it to slow the encroaching dead. She could tell where she was going by the dim light shed by the moon, her own hightened night sight, and her distance from the shattered window. A few more tense seconds and she heard the sound of crunching glass. Undead trampling shards of stained glass window. She pushed, and in some cases passed, through them to the door. It had indeed been spiked shut. At the base of each of the small access doors was a deep recess, and in them sat a simple metal rod. She tried to withdraw one of them, but found that they were stuck fast and she just couldn't stay corporeal long enough to wrestle them from where they nested. It was then she remembered something. As she had turned back to rejoin Ferret, she had done something she had not given any thought to at the time. It didn't seem odd, but then again Lydia had been dead an awfully long time. Nothing seemed odd to her anymore where the undead were concerned. Back out on the street she had given an order, and the corpse she had given it too had obeyed. Ferret couldn't do that. Even demons couldn't do that. Demons and undead usually ignored each other. Lydia wasn't an ordinary undead either. She was imperfect. A ghost sure, but wasn't a ghost just an imperfect without a body? There was a kinship here, but where they were stupid with death, she had retained all of her faculties. "You," she barked to a stout looking corpse. she turned to another heavy looking one, "And you. Get this bar removed. Now." The corpses stared at her for a moment. There came another crash and a short yelp from the direction of the altar. The two bodies had turned back in that direction, but Lydia stopped them "No you bastards! Get these bars removed now. I order you!" As an afterthought she threw in "In the name of Gulgatha." They turned back to Lydia and when another sound came from the altar, they did not turn towards it. Instead, each grabbed one of the rods holding a door in place and began pulling on them. A few others even joined in the effort. Satisfied that their exit was secure, she turned back towards Ferret, only to come face to face with a familiar looking skull.