by Aleron Kong
The light seeping through Richter’s shut eyes intensified. He felt the parasitic magic flood his soul again before retreating. “Hmmm. Your true name has never been spoken in The Land. How interesting. No matter, I will rip that knowledge from your mind. You will give me everything, including your Heart Crystal, and before I destroy your will completely you will witness the desecration of all you hold dear.”
Richter had quailed even as he choked at hearing just how much the lich was able to know about him. His most intimate secrets were being laid bare. Everything except for his true name. He sent a silent thanks to Xuetrix, wherever the imp might be, for his advice when he first arrived in The Land, but then the undead’s final words penetrated his addled psyche.
“Will you open your eyes, young Master? Or shall I strip the very skin from your face until they are laid bare?”
Richter just kept his eyes screwed shut.
“Very well,” Singh intoned.
The chaos seed felt a razor-sharp line of magical force pierce his skin just below his hairline and he began to howl. With precision and detachment, the lich slowly moved the line across Richter’s forehead, cutting deep enough to score his skull. Hisako shouted inside of his mind with the twinleaf that the portal could not last much longer, but the chaos seed was lost in a world of pain. Alma’s heart broke at her love’s mental anguish, but she knew Richter would want her to finish the plan. The dragonling flew faster. Blood sluiced down Richter's face and the line of force began to cut down the left side of his face. His arms swung against the lich’s body, but his unarmed attacks had no effect at all. The throat-crushing force of Singh’s grip made casting impossible.
Singh continued to speak as he flayed Richter’s face, “You have only yourself to blame for this. When I sent that fool Nien to find and kill you, I did not know if he would succeed. I certainly did not care if he returned. The bone, and my long explanation of how it worked, was for you. Only for your benefit. I still do not understand the power that lets you see into the past of your slain foes, but I recognized it as Thought magic. The very nature of my eldritch Power is to corrupt and subvert other forms of magic.” The lich laughed, “I did not even need to use my magic this time. I only needed to dangle the bait, and you took it like a hungry striker cat. Once my forces have dealt with the minor disturbance your void pet has made, my undead horde will sweep through the portal and lay waste to the entire forest.”
Richter was still screaming, but if he could have, he would have bared his teeth into a bloody grin. If the lich thought the portal would stay open long enough to send an army through, then the undead was the fool, not him!
The lich read something in Richter’s body language. The lance of magical force stopped cutting, “You believe that I have not already seen the instability of the gateway. You believe it will close before my forces can cross over. That is only because you believe that your allies have control of it. I am merely allowing them to feed it with their mana, and every passing minute makes them weaker. Rest assured, as soon as their resources run dry, the magic of the Mausoleum will take over and the portal will be mine to command.”
Richter’s momentary joy turned to ashes in his mouth. Is he reading my mind, he cried out in his own head before realizing that was not the right response to Singh’s words. Using the twinleaf, he shouted to Hisako, *Close the portal! The lich is going to take control of it!*
His warning came far too late. Singh had outthought them all. In a panic, Hisako tried to close the doorway, but the lich had cast his spell weeks in advance. Before he had even given the eldritch bone to Nien, Singh had already laid his trap. As soon as the gateway had been established, his spell was activated. Whether Hisako ran out of mana or tried to close the gateway intentionally, his spell was prepared to take control. Now that the Hearth Mother attempted to break contact with the gateway, the trap sprang shut.
Eldritch magic surged up from between the dark grey blocks in streams of malignant power. The Mausoleum itself fed the fading energy of the portal, which stabilized and began to grow larger. The allied forces looked on in fear as the golden energy that had surrounded the edges was replaced by the parasitic green of eldritch magic.
Hisako cried out from spell shock as control was wrenched away from her. The Hearth Mother fell to the ground senseless and would have tipped over the edge of the battlements if not for the support of her watchful attendants. The direction of the wind reversed as the polarity of the portal was reversed. That change brought the noxious stink of the Mausoleum into the Dungeon. With fear and steel battling in his heart, Terrod called an order, “Retreat to the Barbican! Protect the Hearth Mother!”
The allied forces all fled behind the walls as the portal grew larger and larger. One edge connected with a red stone pillar and the stone was vaporized by the magic of the doorway. The orientation also changed, no longer at a cant, but instead perpendicular to the floor of the Mausoleum. Every member of both allied armies could now see the titanic battle between the devastator skeleton and the void chain mauler. The undead could also now see all of them. In response to the silent command of the lich lord, several hundred broke off from their battle with the mauler’s suborned army and rushed up the stairs. The matte black figures of voidlings chased after them.
The sprites Richter had left behind to guard the portal had done their duty. Dozens of undead had been slain. The sprite leader had begun to kindle the hope that they might actually hold their position, but there was no stopping the tsunami of undead that were now rushing up the stairway. The sprite captain called a retreat and they fled through the portal as well. Before they crossed the magical boundary, the sprites all showed their true merit by picking up the bodies of slain comrades and allies. They would not leave them to be defiled by the lich and his armies. So laden, they ran as fast as they could, not stopping until they had passed through the entrance to the Barbican and the portcullis slammed shut behind them. Then they turned and set down the bodies of the fallen. A moment later, they placed arrows on their bow strings, ready to defend the Hearth Mother and their allies with their last breath.
As all of this was happening, Singh watched the interplay of emotions on Richter’s bloody face. One corner of the chaos seed’s forehead was already beginning to sag from the cuts he had made. The lich reached out to that corner, and began to pull Richter’s skin free in a solid bloody flap. The chaos seed couldn’t help it. His eyes flew open involuntarily as a scream of pure agony ripped out of his mind. Quick as a cobra, Singh looked in his eyes, but Richter was able to shut them again. He just wasn’t able to do it fast enough. The lich hadn’t been able to make a proper psychic bond, but he did catch a glimpse of something. Something Richter had been hiding and buying time for.
“What is it you are thinking?” Singh thundered. The eldritch Mage struck him across the face, knocking him to the ground. As Richter was picked back up, the lich shouted into his face, “You will show me your eyes!” The chaos seed felt the agony return as the lich’s magic began to cut into his face again. Singh was no longer content to taunt and play with his captive, and the magical scalpel cut deeper and faster than before. Despair threatened to overwhelm Richter. Alma needed time! He didn’t even know how he was still conscious now! He could not let the lich know the true plan, but how long could he hold out against his face being cut free from his own skull?
Screams issued from his mouth and he almost succumbed, but then his mind registered something that he had seen during that brief moment when his eyes had flashed open. His will firmed. He knew what he had to do. “Okay! Alright!” Richter shouted in a strangled and pained voice. The lich had let go of his throat when he was shaking him, but the crushing grip had left serious damage behind. “Just let me speak!”
“You do not need to speak to obey me,” the lich answered, grabbing his throat and squeezing once more
“Things… you need… to know!” came the chaos seed’s raspy response.
Singh regarded him for a momen
t, but finally relaxed his grip with a warning, “Do not test me, young Master.”
Richter took a step back and to the side. “I promise. I will tell you the most important thing I know.” The lich’s gaze followed him and the undead took a half step forward, keeping any distance from forming between the two of them. “What you need to know. What you should already know… is that sprites... are really good climbers.”
CHAPTER 103 – Day 150 – Kuborn 39, 0 AoC
The lich cocked his head in confusion, then his eyes widened in understanding. He whipped his head around and saw Sion standing on the edge of precipice. Both of the sprite's hands were raised, one forming the universal symbol of sprite disrespect, and the other with the middle finger extended. The lich, who had touted his own superiority and brilliance, fell for a simple ‘made you look.’
Somehow, that made what Richter did next so much sweeter. That one second of distraction was all he needed to use one of his most expensive items. The chaos seed’s hand shot into his Bag of Holding and he summoned what he needed directly into his hand. The Bottled Elder Banshee Scream had cost him the equivalent of nearly ten thousand dollars in gold. It only worked if you got close, but Abbas’s sons had promised that it was extremely powerful against casters. If this didn’t work, Richter planned to… well, he realized he would pretty much be dead at that point and therefore in no position to ask for a refund, so he just hoped it worked.
Unstopping the bottle, it wasn’t just a scream that issued forth but a simulacrum of the monster itself. An ethereal creature, blue and green in color, welled out like a genie and screamed at the lich who stood only two feet away. Even being outside of the cone of attack, the sound made Richter’s ears bleed and he collapsed to both knees again. The effect on the eldritch magus was much worse. Prompts appeared in Richter’s vision like messages from heaven. Singh collapsed while the banshee dissipated like smoke on the wind.
BEGIN COMBAT LOG
Richter hits Singh with Elder Banshee Scream!
Singh is Deafened!
Singh is Silenced!
Singh is Disoriented!
Singh resists Madness!
Singh is Blinded!
Singh resists Bleeding due to 100% lich immunity to this debuff!
Singh is Stunned!
Singh takes 1,771 (base 2,530 x 0.7) points of Direct Damage! (Damage from Death creatures decreased by 30% due to ownership of Level 3 Mausoleum)
END COMBAT LOG
Seventeen hundred points of damage and Singh was still alive? The chaos seed couldn’t believe it, but he still cheered internally. His jubilation faded though as one of the green prompts started flashing red, showing that the Stun debuff would wear off in a matter of seconds. He had planned to keep attacking, but seeing how much of a hit Singh could take and keep standing, coupled with the fact that Richter was weaponless and the debuffs would wear off in seconds, he decided to go with a different plan.
Still, there was one thing he just couldn’t resist. Richter moved as quickly as his ruined body would allow to get to Singh’s side. Though it made him feel like he was going to piss blood, he still couldn’t help kicking the lich’s legs out from under him. The Stun effect had left Singh standing upright and listing slightly side-to-side, but he crumpled to the ground after that. He’d never seen a more beautiful sight than the undead’s body collapsing to the ground. The emerald staff remained upright.
Sion rushed towards the doorway, “Is that going to kill him?” the sprite shouted. Both Companions had lost some of their own hearing even though they hadn’t been in the direct cone of the banshee’s wail.
In Richter’s vision, a green line turned red. His stomach twisted as he realized the Stun debuff had worn off completely. That feeling worsened when the Blinded debuff began to flash. It only flickered for one second before turning completely red. The lich’s sight was restored. His eyes burned neon green and the illusion of his flesh began to burn away. The only thing hotter than the flames eating away Singh’s false sprite face was the burning hatred in the undead’s gaze. Singh opened his mouth to cast, but the Silence debuff still held. The fires in his eyes burned brighter.
“I really doubt it,” Richter shouted back as the lich started to climb to his feet. “Tell me you still have the bottle!”
Sion didn’t speak, he just held up the spell-scribed glass in one hand. Richter took it from him and scooped up his bow, handing it to the sprite. Sion had lost both his arrows and bow when he’d gone over the side.
“Get ready to break it!” Richter shouted.
“While we’re standing here?” Sion asked looking at him wildly. “Are you crazy? What about Plan B?”
“She needs more time,” Richter shouted back. He hadn’t heard from Alma yet, but he knew she would speak to him as soon as she was ready. The two of them started moving at a shamble towards the wall of faces. The blood pouring down the chaos seed’s face effectively blinded his left eye, but he was still able to see well enough to pick up Black Ice along the way. There was no way he could make it over the one hundred yards of traps with his battered body, let alone with Sion on his back, but that didn’t change the fact that his friend was right. They needed to put some distance between themselves and wherever the bottle would break. Even if they just stayed on the other side of the wall, it was better than being out in the open.
What was contained inside of the spell-scribed bottle would make the banshee scream seem like a soft summer wind. All he could think to do was get beyond the wall and shatter the bottle behind them. Hopefully it would kill the lich and buy him and Sion enough time to climb the wall of faces. If they got high enough, then the extra elevation might just let him Cloud Run the two of them across the traps to the sarcophagus. It was a fool’s chance that the lich would leave them alone long enough to do that, but at least it was a chance.
The two of them were almost at the wall when the lich summoned the emerald staff to his hand. At an exertion of Singh’s will, the eyes and mouth of every face snapped shut, including the large one that served as the door. All that was left was a solid wall of Core-enhanced metal. The Companions both looked at Singh, fear seizing their guts. The lich was unsteady on his feet, the Disorient debuff still in effect, but the Deafened and Silence debuffs had both started to flicker. Richter cursed. The lich’s magic resistance was insane!
The chaos seed came to another split-second decision. Turning back the way they had come, he ran as fast as he could, pulling Sion after him. If they couldn’t get through the wall, they could at least make it to the end of the platform. As the two Companions moved at a shambling gait, the lich aimed his staff. Three seconds later, a foot-wide beam of pure eldritch magic shot through the air.
The blast missed by inches, and the lich silently cursed his poor aim. If not for the Silence debuff Singh would not have been limited to his staff’s primary attack, and if not for Disorient all that would be left of the two friends would be chunks of seared flesh. Richter planned to kiss Abbas the next time he saw him, but for the moment he contented himself with running for his life.
Singh stared daggers at the two men as they moved further away, but was not overly concerned. There was nowhere for they could run. The walkway ended after only one hundred yards, and only the abyss remained after that. He took aim again and pulses of energy built in the emerald. The staff’s attack could be used without a verbal component, but luckily for the two Companions, it took several seconds to recharge.
The chaos seed looked behind him and saw the pulses coming faster in the giant green gem. They were almost out of time. They’d only been able to put fifteen yards between themselves and the lich, but it would have to be enough. Richter stopped his injured stumbling and faced the undead magus, the bottle held in his hand, cocked and ready.
“Are you sure about this?” Sion asked, his tone making it clear that he personally was anything but.
“Just say the words and shoot!” the chaos seed responded. Then, facing down the lich
and his staff of terrible power, he threw the bottle at him. When it had crossed half the distance, Sion fired an imbued arrow that struck the spell scribed glass with a small boom. In that instant, three things happened. One, the remaining forty-nine points of durability were removed from the Containment Bottle. Two, the greater wind demon inside was released without the containment circle to keep it in check. Three, two best friends shouted the same phrase, releasing the words for the first time into The Land!
“Lerrrrrooyyyy Jennnkiinnssss!”
There was no slow buildup, no calm before the storm. In one instant there were the three enemies atop the walkway. In the next, an actual demon stood between them. Richter hadn’t known what to expect. Maybe a tornado with claws and talons. Maybe some sort of sharp-toothed monster. The demon didn’t look like either of those two things.
He looked like an angel.
Standing twelve feet in height, the demon’s chest was bare. His skin was the dark blue of a storm-promised sky. Two large wings rose from his back, and each feather on them looked sharp enough to slice through shields. His body was humanoid, but his feet ended in two eagle’s claws. He was heavily muscled and a massive penis hung between his legs. As daunting as that was, it was his face that immediately grabbed the attention of the three people on the rooftop. The expression was cold and harsh, yet undeniably beautiful. This was a creature to be feared… and worshiped. His eyes were two orbs of swirling blue-black lightning and the same energy played over his wings.
The demon screamed in equal parts rage and triumph. After centuries of confinement, he was free! He raised both of his arms in glory to his own majesty, and his wings extended out ten feet to a side. A moment later, his gaze swept over the lesser creatures standing nearby. First, he looked over the lich and his charging emerald staff, but found nothing to hold his gaze. Next, he turned his terrible lightning eyes upon Richter and Sion. The chaos seed wasted no time.