Malcor's Story

by Eric K. Barnum

  Dar Kendra then introduced the newcomers. Dar Reznor’s apprentice would join them from the mage’s guild along with another mage more studied in combat tactics. Tembri explained that no one knew the man's name and he was simply called "Apprentice". The Thieves’ Guild provided two “thieves” to aid with scouting and any other stealth functions they might need. Lastly, Kendra introduced a cleric of Krentismar, the patron god of the islands and the thri-keen race, an insectoid underground collective. With him, an elven ranger stood forward and greeted the party. “All together, there are forty-five of us. And, we have two goals with this quest. The first goal is to safeguard our friend and ally, Ori. The second goal is to place our newest member Sir Malcor in position to defeat the lich.”

  Malcor did not see where he came from, but suddenly Daryx appeared and said, “We have received a report from our ambassador Dar Itain. Please clear the combat rune and let us see.”

  An illusion of Itain appeared and Malcor noted his stoic if pleasant expression as he explained the situation. “They are demoralized. Tomorrow, I will accompany their daimo to parley with the lich. The lich offered to speak with their god Imperius, but – of note – the lich is either unaware or unimpressed with their god.”

  Daryx asked, “Can you qualify that the lich is an eldar?”

  “He may only be an eldar Lord Daryx, and not a lich at all. As you know, necromancy and other specializations were somewhat fluid for the eldar. It has the appearance of a lich. Watch.” Itain laid his cloak out and magically presented Toshiro’s memories of the head cage, the revenants, the lich not touching him, and the destruction of the gates. “The lich shows mastery of necromancy and elementalism, and fuses the two together effortlessly. Note the sunlight scalding its flesh, but the lich does not even notice.”

  While he spoke, the image of the lich suddenly changed and a chill dread reached a skeletal hand out of the cloak grasping at Itain, who danced back from the cloak. He smiled, “And apparently, the lich has mastered scrying magic as well, though this is three steps removed from the lich.” Itain closed the cloak’s image and the dread left. Maybe for comfort, maybe for good measure, Itain stabbed the cloak and ignited his sword’s fire to burn the cloak. Malcor felt he could smell the burning cloth through the illusion.

  Daryx spoke and said, “You have done well ambassador. Be safe. The party will begin gating to Ori shortly. Their orders are as we discussed. Please let the daimo know. Dar Kendra has lead on the party backed by her battle priest and then Dar Reznor’s apprentice. Itain, the emperor has asked dread lord Blaze to stay ready to intervene if needed, at your discretion.” Daryx turned and left with Dar Kell.

  Tembri whispered to Malcor, “Blaze is the common name of Alerius’ eldest son.”

  The mage identified as Reznor’s Apprentice turned and began casting a spell. In no time at all, a black slice of a magical doorway opened in the air. Into the center of this, the other mage projected an orb that looked a bit like an oversized human eye, and sent it through the gate. After a moment, the mage confirmed it safe. Group by group, they walked through the gate…

  …and stepped out into a courtyard surrounded by flying red silk pinions framed in gold that glinted in the morning sunlight. All around them, cheering erupted and flower confetti filled the air. A divan chair carried by servants held aloft an elderly gentleman who regarded their arrival. Dar Itain stood to the side of the divan chair. After they had all arrived and stood blinking and adjusting to the morning light, Dar Kendra approached and bowed to the daimo and Dar Itain. “The Order of Water, first of the knights of Takhissis awaits action King of Ori and Lord Ambassador Dar Itain!”

  The cheering erupted again. Exhausted and starving, Malcor held his composure as best he could but felt relieved when all but the party’s leaders were dismissed to make ready. Tembri had water and food ready for him as they walked to a section of the southern wall. Though repairs looked well underway, Malcor pointed out the large circular portion of glass smooth ground that extended into the courtyard and fused up the walls around the gate. Tembri told him about the report he had slept through where the lich had melted the gates and southern wall, essentially undermining the foundation. "This is why the ambassador and others think the lich is an eldar. According to the emperor, the eldar could shape and reshape matter at will, just by thinking about it. This is a form of elemental disintegration that shows the lich was not sure what it was. So he melted it to its most raw form."

  When Malcor arrived atop the wall last, he felt an eagerness in his bones when he finally looked out over his first actual battlefield. Except for the siege engines, it looked nothing like he would have thought. For one, there were no corpses, only blast marks from magic and siege/counter-siege weapons. Large stones littered the ground here and there and what might have been bloodstains, colored the ground in places. Missile-shielding barricades stood at angles in front of the siege engines and Malcor noted the small forms of what must be goblins or something similar moving around their base. Then a smaller creature came into view and Malcor realized that what he had thought goblins must instead be ogres. All of the siege weapons appeared cocked and ready to fire. He counted at least eight trebuchets and maybe twice as many catapults.

  “Tembri, shouldn’t there be debris and bodies?”

  “No Sir Malcor. This is a fight with magic and necromancy. The dead rise up and if not recovered, even their body parts become assimilated into the undead army as tools and bits and pieces of weapons. Wood and metal are either recovered by the living or recovered by the dead. I should have forewarned you. Necromantic battles look quite clean in the light of day. However, like your second rite showed, they are quite gory and liquid during.”

  An Imperic, perhaps a monk, nearby said they had recovered only a handful of bodies in the morning. "It was odd Tanians, the lich released some of the undead and they fell with no trace of undeath at all. We have placed them under guard on holy ground." The young man bore the signs of many freshly healed wounds and he noticed the bruise of Malcor's face under his cloak. "Your face, what happened to it?"

  Malcor started to pull his cowl over his face but decided instead to pull it back. The ruptured veins through his skin and the blood in his eyes' whites must look even worse than he had thought. The monk stepped back reactively. "Dear lord, what are you?"

  "Hungry," Malcor replied. "My training schedule did not stop just because of this war."

  The monk eyed Tembri and Malcor and then he shrugged. "I have never understood your people. Were you beaten for disobedience, or worse?"

  Malcor shook his head no. "It's part of becoming a paladin. A trial of pain by combat." Tembri moved over and brought Malcor a wineskin and urged him to drink as his voice was fading to a hoarse choking sound.

  "Your goddess is cruel to try you in this manner," the monk said indicating no offense. He turned his attention to the distant armies gathered just out of range. "Our lord Imperius requires us to prove step by step, skill upon skill. Isn't that what you do?"

  While Malcor sipped the tea laced with healing herbs and plants, Tembri leaned on the wall by the monk. "Our Mother recognizes our potential very early. We then test our own against that potential. As such, the earliest rites are a test of young resolve – can they reach their divine potential. After that, it is similar. Skill up on skill."

  A courier arrived and noted that the talks were about two hours away. Malcor fell asleep to Tembri awakening him. “Sir, the lich has arrived.”

  Chapter Twenty Four – Truce with the Lich

  Malcor stood and looked out again. The Order stood along a section of the wall giving excellent view of the battlefield but would hide them quite well. Their goals did not involve direct assault or participation in combat, not yet.

  A gate, similar to the one they had arrived in, but pulsing with purple lightning had opened just out of the city’s range of siege weapons. Into the bright sunlight, a tall thin figure in full plate armor stepped. The gate swirled closed
behind it and the creature folded its arms and remained standing. Its armies cried out screaming and hammering their weapons and feet on the ground. Malcor noted that this sound was what an army estimated of twenty thousand must be like. He imagined Armageddon would be able to destroy them in a single pass of dragon fire, and it made him feel better.

  Looking at the lich, Malcor felt a chill cross his spine and saw Tembri feel it too. For some reason, it gave Malcor comfort that even someone as powerful as his battle priest felt that dread chill. Malcor tried to shift to the River to see if the lich appeared any different but found he could not. He tried again and Tembri put his hand on his shoulder, "It's a force of will Malcor. You can't River step when you're still on the threshold of death. Give it time. You can't see anything anyway. We already tried. The lich has magical defenses in place. There's nothing to see there."

  The daimo, unwilling to risk any attendants, walked out of the city gate with Dar Itain at his side. The lich did not move until the two of them stood about 5 paces away. Itain bowed and appeared to introduce himself and the daimo. As he finished though, the lich interrupted with a voice that pierced the entire city and surrounding area.

  “Know thy place. I know not what a Dar Itain is. Nor this frail old man. My messenger instructed you to bring your fool god Imperius, or this city’s ruler. I see only meat.”

  The daimo replied, "I am this city's ruler." He pointed to Dar Itain. "This is our ally and friend, my advisor."

  The lich nodded, “Very well, Daimo. I do not wish to shed any more life than is necessary. Are you ready to surrender? My terms… are absolute surrender. Don’t be a fool. What kind of god would I be if I did not reward and cherish the people of this city?”

  The cold dread of the lich’s tone, that struck them with fear, suddenly became that of a lover willing to do anything to protect his love from harm. Like before, its voice carried throughout the city. Some of the Ori guards near them murmured, “Yes, yes, he won’t kill us! The daimo should surrender!”

  Dar Itain appeared to bow and stepped back from the lich. When he was some 15 paces, he jumped and his body surged, transforming into a green dragon. While not as large as any of the dragons Malcor had experience with, the green dragon sparkled in the sunlight and then dragon fear crashed down over the city overcoming the seduction and offer of love. In draconian, the green hissed down at the lich, and its words silenced the lich's voice.

  The lich looked at the dragon and Mal noticed Tembri holding his breath. Tembri explained, "The lich is checking to see if this is an illusion, or maybe if the ambassador is a mage of some kind. If we are right, and he is eldar, he will not recognize this type of divine intervention. The eldar had no gods, no religion, no doctrine. Ah, yes, the lich is intrigued."

  The daimo spoke with the lich for some time, at one point, the old man even paced. The lich however, never moved. They appeared to reach some kind of agreement, with the lich nodding its head. The green dragon opened its claw and the daimo stepped onto it. A second later, the green dragon soared into the sky. The lich barely turned its head to acknowledge. All around, the siege engines relaxed on the enemy line.

  The green dragon landed in the courtyard behind the repaired gates and gently set the daimo down. Itain, in dragon form, then leapt back into the sky. In spite of how gentle dragonshifted Itain had been with the daimo’s body, dragonfear swept over the entire city causing panic everywhere. Like his fellow knights, Malcor stood tall and proud as every other person in the area quivered in fear or dropped down covering their heads. Some younger soldiers actually dropped their weapons and tried to run, but lacking a place to run to, they cowered trying to look unaffected. The daimo and a few others stood their ground but Malcor could tell the fear had affected them too.

  The dragon left the courtyard pin-needle quiet. The daimo spoke, “My people, the lich has agreed to extend the cease fire. I agreed to some terms. Let this edict be sent forth to all our peoples. The lich will walk the streets of Ori unchallenged. He wishes to see our city. He has promised us no ill will, but will no doubt defend itself. As king, I require that all of you respect and honor the lich. He is not to be harmed, mocked, threatened, or antagonized in any way during his visits… on pain of imprisonment.

  “Should the lich retaliate, the deaths and damages caused shall fall on the heads of those provoking him. Provocateurs will bring great shame to their families, and to me. I gave him my word. Though a powerful creature of evil, he comes from a time where “evil” did not yet exist. Concepts like “good” and “evil” mean nothing to him. Your lives mean nothing to him because death, in that time, meant a transformation into Chaos and a new life. He has started to understand our world but does not. Lastly, he mocks our god Imperius, and does not understand nor care to understand the ways of honor and honorable combat. He will visit the temple of Imperius, and we must comply! Let it be written as law.

  “Also, he requires tribute. I have agreed to pay this tribute in the name of holding the cease fire. A tax shall be levied on all citizens. I expect full cooperation, beginning tomorrow! Let it be written as law.”

  The Order of Water retired to a barracks below the wall, to prepare.

  Chapter Twenty Five – Out of Time

  The lich walked into a chamber he had begun to use as his place. Melted rock glistened as if frozen all around. As he entered, his revenant bodyguards took up positions to either side and then enlarged to tower over the assembled group of ogres. The lich looked over them and smiled. Though magic felt sluggish in this new place and time, he had been able to summon these easily enough. Though they lacked the majesty of the ogres from his time – some new god named Grimsh or something – had corrupted them, he had been able to magically enhance two into magi, his army’s generals. He considered transforming all of the ogres into magi, but experiments had shown an unacceptably high fatality rate. Only a few of them appeared to have the spark of intelligence required to carry and use magic.

  The two general magi knelt before him. One commanded the siege line and the other commanded the main attacking force. “I have reached an agreement with the city,” the lich said. “They will bring us tribute. A small amount tomorrow I will personally collect. After that, you two will be in charge of meeting them and collecting it. You will each take four of your own. Those four each are to take as much as they can carry, no more, no less. Any questions?”

  One of the generals bowed his head. “Great one, when we have collected this tribute, what shall we do with it?”

  The lich loved this about these magi. Straight to the point without being insulting. He could feel the other questions burning in their minds, but they chose this one. “For two of the four, distribute to the captains. The rest is to go into the treasury. We will drain this city dry of its wealth." The ogre magi smiled. It felt wrong that they were all so easily motivated by the promise of treasure. He continued, "Have the army begin practice skirmishes for a mountain invasion by small groups. But note, I want them monitored and challenged, not killed unless they are weak. The strong are to be allowed to continue. Set the strongest defenders at the treasury, with traps, ambushes; impress me." The lich twisted his hand and a golden and gemmed cup appeared floating over its hand. “Give this cup to the captain you deem most worthy to stand up a third army, a defensive one. I believe that the humans will shortly attempt to enter this place. We will try them and see how they do.”

  The other magi bowed his head and spoke. “The dead have all been retrieved and are laid out as per your command.”

  “Perfect. I am pleased with you both.” The lich spoke louder for the rest of the captains to hear. “We have a cease fire with the humans. Use this time to repair and build new siege equipment. Bring more of those barking lizard creatures into the army and train them to scale ladders and attack the walls. The magi will begin a series of skirmishes, which are not to result in deaths. The winners of these skirmishes will receive plunder from the city. Until my order, none shall enter withi
n sight of the walls. Each of you, take a squad and place a line of stones around the wall so that the army may know not to cross it.” The lich turned back to the magi, “You two come with me.”

  When they left, the revenants stepped forward and glowered at the captains until they left. Boasting and challenges had already started and a group of ogre captains had started shoving each other. One drew steel and went to backstab his fellow. A revenant shrieked, causing all of the captains to scream and cover their ears. The captain drawing steel paralyzed and then roared in agony as the revenant tore its soul free from its body. The roar went silent as the soul’s connection to the body severed. The captains watched in dark fascination as the soul continued to scream silently, trying to escape the revenant’s grip. The ogre’s body fell, and caught itself mid-fall, lurching back upright. Purple fire sickened in its eyes and the zombie turned, leaving the group, and walked with slow intent into the mountain tunnels.

  The revenant pointed the terror-stricken soul to the group, holding it aloft so they could see. The soul pled, begged, and then began tearing apart in the revenant’s hand. Many of the captains dry swallowed or licked suddenly dry lips. At last the revenant said something but none of the ogre captains could understand though the intent came through. Its harsh consonants vocalized by one long dead, conveyed a certain brutality. As the soul tore, what might have been spirit blood showered down from it. The revenant pointed to the exit and said another sound. To the captains, it might have meant “Go!” and they took it to mean such as they all hurriedly exited.

  In a different room, the lich and the two magi looked out over linen-draped corpses. Laid out in neat rows, the magi noted two hundred and eighty-six had been recovered where the bodies met the lich’s criteria. The lich uncovered one, noting the human had been killed by a single sword stabbing into its heart. “Perfect,” he hissed. Though most of the corpses were from his own army of goblinoids, the lich looked over each of the humans noting the odd tattoos of this “god” Imperius. “What a pathetic god, to force its thralls to tell its story on their bodies, and then to let them die.”