by Sarah Lin
"No, I'm impressed. Not just anyone could do that."
"It might look that way, but I'm-"
Meara cut off as Bloodwraith put a hand on her shoulder. "Just take the compliment, Meara. Your capacities are likely to matter more than raw power, in the end."
They all began to chat about lighter subjects. While they did, Bloodwraith looked to Izilthor, who was finishing off the bone golem corpse. She had many more bodies to eat higher in the crypt, but there would be time for that later. All in all, she'd received fewer NP than he had hoped, but it was still enough to increase her stats further. Perhaps she would be able to fight alongside them in the end.
His thoughts were interrupted when Danniah nudged him in the side. "Bloodwraith, what happens now? You said that you had things planned for all the days, and there are still several left before we need to go fight Raigar."
Bloodwraith nodded grimly. "Yes, there are many tasks we must complete. I fear the trial we have just completed will pale in comparison to them."
"R-really? But... I mean, I feel better, but I don't think I've ever been that tired before..."
"No, I fear this priority cannot be put aside. The last task will fill every available moment of the final days before the battle." Bloodwraith put his hands on Danniah's shoulders heavily. "What you must do is rest and relax until then."
She stared at him a moment, then understood. "Hey! You didn't have to tease me!" But though she jabbed him in the stomach, after that she hugged him. The others smiled as well, as if it had been a joke.
He supposed that it had been one, but it wasn't only that. Though Bloodwraith looked forward to spending a few days recovering, it was also simple strategy. Rest and relaxation was a tactical concern, because they couldn't fight at their best if they were exhausted.
And they would need their best for what was coming.
Chapter 26
The Governor of Manascas was a cautious man. Though he gave off the appearance of casual interest as he sat in his private chamber above the Red Sands Arena, everything about his visit had been orchestrated. Veteran bodyguards hovered in the shadows, combat priests stood at his side, and guards covered the doorways.
None of these stopped Meara from walking straight in.
Though the guards shouted for her to stop, she simply ignored them. She wasn't surprised when they went straight to stabbing at her, but she walked through their swords. One of the mages sent a burst of fire that just passed through her and struck the guards. After all, she was just a simple merchant girl, what did combat have to do with her?
When the Governor started to get to his feet, Meara spoke up before things could get out of hand. "Lord Governor, I came here to speak with you on behalf of a small group of adventurers. We have strong reason to believe that the lich who threatens the city is here today."
Most warlords would have demanded that his guards keep attacking her, but the Governor watched her thoughtfully. As the tension stretched, he eventually waved for his guards to stand down. He stepped to face her, though he kept his distance.
"And you had to convey this message via a threat to my person? You couldn't go through the official channels?"
"Not only would that have been too slow, Lord Governor, many of those official channels have put a price on one of my ally's heads."
His eyebrows rose incrementally. "This Raigar, I presume? I assumed he fled the city months ago."
"No, we have our own reasons to want the lich destroyed. But given what he has done in your city, we thought that perhaps our interests align." Seeing that he was receptive, Meara took a deep breath and began the plan. "We will be putting our lives on the line to defeat him. All we ask from you is a bit of cooperation."
"As if I will stand idly by in my own city." The Governor gave a snort. "No, we will take control of this matter. But in return for your cooperation with us, I am willing to grant you several concessions."
That was better than it could have been, so Meara nodded graciously. "If you insist, Lord Governor. First, we request for my companions and I to be allowed into the Arena without being arrested by guards or attacked by adventurers. It would rather inconvenience our efforts to battle the lich, you understand."
Waving a hand, the Governor accepted that condition immediately. "It can be done. We can escort you to secure positions." That would also mean keeping an eye on them, but they had been willing to accept such conditions and they had more important requests, so Meara merely nodded in acceptance.
"Second, we ask that you not launch any overbearing preemptive security measures. The lich will unquestionably escape if he believes that his presence is discovered."
"That is not unreasonable, though I will replace myself with a body double as soon as possible."
"You may do so if you wish, but we also wanted to ask about the priests you have in your employ. One of the few truly effective counters to the lich will be powerful holy magic. The two priests you've hired to protect you would be invaluable in the battle."
The Governor considered her words with a stern look, but eventually relented. "Very well. I do not want to risk good men against that destructive artifact, but I suppose you will be risking your lives first."
"Thank you, Lord Governor. We will not ask to control them, merely that they fight alongside us to defeat the lich."
"Reasonable enough. But I wish to be away from here - is there anything else?"
"Just one more thing." Meara turned toward one of the priests and smiled sweetly. "Is it possible to create a holy bomb?"
~ ~ ~
Though Bloodwraith had been apprehensive about using official channels in any capacity, the others had convinced him to let Meara try. And in the end, they were allowed to take key positions in the Arena instead of needing to sneak in, so it had gone well enough.
He still wondered what the Governor would think, if he knew Bloodwraith's real identity. The Governor of Manascas had been the same man during the Master Lich's reign of terror, or at least he was fairly certain it was the same man. Working with a pompous bureaucrat rubbed Bloodwraith the wrong way, but this wasn't about his preferences. This was about winning.
The plan required them to split up, which left him with little to distract himself as they waited. He waited by one of the unused entrances to the sands, ready to fight however was needed, and Izilthor had sneaked in with him, because convincing the Governor to allow a ghoul would have been too much of a stretch. Danniah waited among the melee contestants to potentially get closer to Raigar. Gharavi watched from atop a nearby tower with a view of the Arena. Meara had returned to the Governor's chambers to organize the men he'd left.
There had been a few critical moments where he had worried that Raigar would not show, but Herskeh was proved right: Raigar couldn't stay away. He had actually applied to be part of the team melee with a group that seemed to be composed of himself, Baratak, and two ghouls. Both of the undead were under obscuring cloaks, making it difficult to determine their strength.
That was purely based on estimates from the boxes, however, and he remained skeptical about such estimates when it came to enemies. He'd glared hard at his old body, trying to summon a box with a Level rating, but none appeared. Not that it would have been an accurate evaluation of Raigar's threat in any case.
"Do we attack now?" Izilthor hovered by his shoulder, watching eagerly. Bloodwraith shook his head.
"Not yet."
"I wanna eat the ghouls."
"You can once we win." Though irritated that she kept pushing up against him, Bloodwraith accepted that she might be nervous as well. Even if she didn't die easily, the threat to her was greater than to the rest of them, given her relative weakness.
Perhaps one day Izilthor would actually be good conversation - that would be an achievement he had never managed with real necromancy. But for now, her intelligence was still gathering the necessary knowledge for that.
Raigar's party entered a melee and the two of them sat forward, watching
closely. Baratak proved a surprisingly useful ally, his strength massively enhanced by the rings and making his speed deadly. If he was actually fighting together with Raigar, that increased the challenge they faced. By contrast, the two undead fought very roughly, as if they were being controlled by a simpleton who could only think of attacking. Their raw quality was high enough that they were still a threat, however.
What bothered him most was how much Raigar used physical combat. In a lich's body, he shouldn't have been able to physically strike opponents like that, yet he was managing it. There were spells to enhance the body, but he doubted that Raigar knew them. It bore watching, but the match was winding down.
"Rings?" Izilthor was watching Baratak instead, focused on his hands. "Can I have the rings?"
"Sorry, Izilthor, but the rest of us need those."
"Not for eating. For using."
Oh, so she'd grasped the basics of enchanted equipment. Though Bloodwraith had never given an undead servant more than mildly enchanted armor and weapons, he reflected that there would be nothing wrong with giving appropriate rings to Izilthor. Far from being the simple "Undead Companion" the boxes had devised, she would grow to be a full member of their group.
"Can I have them?" Izilthor cocked her head in a strange way and he realized that she might be looking for some sort of affirmation. Hadn't he already given enough of that? Then again, he did hear that children needed - dammit, he was letting the others infect his thinking again.
"The rings should go to whoever can use them best," he told her. "That includes you, but first we need to get them from Baratak."
Izilthor nodded in understanding. They waited a while longer, her looking up at him, but just when he was starting to wonder if he should say something else, there was a loud shout from the sands.
There was chaos at the end of the melee area, an argument surrounding Raigar. From what Bloodwraith could hear, it seemed that Raigar's team had been declared eliminated by some technical rule. A huge warrior in furs was sneering and pushed Raigar back. Given that he was Level 17, he was likely the one that had knocked out Raigar's team.
Their argument intensified and there was only one way it could end. Bloodwraith found himself on his feet and reaching for his sword even before he had consciously realized it. Izilthor darted forward to open the door fully so they could leave. They were too late.
Raigar pulled the Scepter of Annihilation from his robe and activated it.
The beam utterly destroyed the adventurer and blazed onward, clipping two of the guards before slicing through the Arena wall. There was barely an instant of stunned silence before the spectators began screaming and running, memories of the last attack fresh in their minds. Many of the participants in the tournament fled as well.
In the middle of it all, Raigar lifted the scepter and a fist over his head. "Yeah, how do you like that? If you're gonna fuck around, I'll just elephant mork you all into oblivion!"
Bloodwraith cautiously moved out, Izilthor at his heels. She tugged at one of his arms. "What does that mean?"
"I have no idea. Don't listen to him too much or you'll take a penalty to Intellect." He was barely listening, though, instead focused on the scepter.
[Scepter of Annihilation
Releases a beam of devastating force.
Durability: 25/25
Charges: 11/50
Rarity: Legendary]
That confirmed that Raigar had no way of recharging the scepter. It was only a small comfort, since the remaining eleven charges could still be deadly, but it was critical to keep in mind.
Before Bloodwraith could reach Raigar, several brave adventurers attacked him. One lashed out with a long whip, snapping around the scepter. Though Raigar kept his grip on it, it was jerked to the side, no longer pointing at anyone. In that time, a warrior stabbed him from behind and a mage began throwing fire at his face. Though Raigar let out a roar and shrugged off the attacks, he was pinned down.
But his companions were rising to help him. Bloodwraith quickly summoned boxes for them and discovered that Baratak was at [134/149] Health, while the two ghouls were at [204/214] and [339/354]. Getting disqualified from the melee match was a far cry from actually being defeated, and if they joined in the fight, the adventurers would have no chance.
Since they were closer in any case, Bloodwraith rushed to intercept them. Best to eliminate all side distractions first, then focus on Raigar. If Herskeh did his job, the undead would not be a problem, but since Baratak hadn't flinched at the Scepter of Annihilation, he knew who Raigar was, which meant he was an enemy that needed to be eliminated.
Bloodwraith slashed at him from the side and the man cartwheeled out of the way. Back on his feet, he gave Bloodwraith an unpleasant smile. "There you are. I was hoping to defeat you in the Arena, but given how I've picked the winning side... it doesn't really matter, does it?"
Behind them, Bloodwraith saw Izilthor dash in to stab at the ghouls and dash away. She was definitely faster than them, but her short sword skated off their armor and their bone looked durable. At least they were distracted, but he wasn't sure that could be maintained.
He lashed out with a broad swipe that his opponent easily ducked. "What makes you think this will go any differently than it did before?"
"Last time you won with mere trickery!" Baratak rushed into his range, stabbing aggressively, but Bloodwraith pulled his sword back and deflected the attacks.
"Trickery was all you had last time." Normally talking in the middle of combat was pure foolishness, but it seemed to be doing a good job of distracting Baratak. "Do you dare to face me at my full strength?"
"Your strength means nothing!" Baratak raised a hand and tightened it into a fist, the enchantments glowing through his armor. "Do you have any idea how much strength these rings grant me? All your grit and muscle mean nothing before the power that gold can buy..."
While he gloated, he didn't notice that Danniah had joined the fight, warding off the two larger ghouls. That left Izilthor free to join him, though he gestured for her to wait with one hand. Instead, he led with an overly-aggressive thrust, letting his opponent strike the blade from his hands.
Letting it go, Bloodwraith reached out and grabbed both of Baratak's wrists, binding him in place. Baratak grinned at him and began to raise his arms. Though Bloodwraith put all of his strength into the struggle, he was being overpowered moment by moment.
"Idiot, you choose to enter a contest of strength with me?"
"This isn't a contest." Bloodwraith stopped trying to compete strength against strength and instead used his opponent's momentum against him. Once Baratak was off-balance, it was easy to grab his arm and pin it in place, hand extended to the side.
Izilthor grabbed his hand and bit off his fingers, rings and all.
Baratak let out a scream and staggered backward, desperately tugging out of Bloodwraith's grip. He brandished his sword wildly, trying to defend himself, but it didn't matter.
Picking up his sword, Bloodwraith pushed in to finish him off. He knew well how the loss of enchantments from armor could be disorienting and pressed that advantage. Not only was Baratak unbalanced and trying to use strength he no longer had, he was reeling from the pain. Bloodwraith pushed through his defenses and slammed the sword through his chest, pinning his corpse to the ground.
Since there was no one immediately threatening, he allowed himself a moment to catch his breath. He'd needed to take out Raigar's allies quickly and without loss of resources, so that had been sufficient. On top of that, Izilthor was now crouching near Baratak's body, going for his other rings.
Then something tingled at the edge of his long-dead senses. A magical threat. Acting on pure instinct, Bloodwraith grabbed Izilthor and threw them both backward.
An instant later, a beam of pure destruction swept through the space where the body had been, vaporizing both the corpse and the rings. Izilthor stared in shock, realizing how close she had come to being consumed in it, but Bloodwrai
th turned to the source.
"No loot for you!" Raigar stood in the center of the arena, holding the scepter above his crotch. "Kumquats go blammo, hahaha!"
Why was he suddenly speaking in a strange, artificial accent? Bloodwraith thrust the idiocy aside and focused on what mattered. Currently the Scepter of Annihilation had [8/50] charges - the adventurers had only forced him to use two of them. It didn't look as though they had been destroyed, though, since the ones he saw lay on the ground, suffering from burns and life-draining spells. Raigar wasn't idiot enough to waste the remaining charges of his most potent weapon.
Returning the scepter to his robe, Raigar began flinging spells with both hands. It seemed that he still wanted his new body. Bloodwraith stayed at a distance, monitoring the Arena to regain his bearings.
Danniah and Izilthor were in range, both fighting off the two ex-adventurer ghouls. They seemed to have their hands full, so it was an even battle, at least by appearances. That meant that their two secret weapons would wait until a more opportune moment.
So it was up to him for now. Bloodwraith advanced forward, evading the attacks as best he could as he pressed closer. Raigar just kept firing wildly, as if he'd learned nothing.
Taking a lunging step forward, Bloodwraith released a shockwave of force in all directions. For a moment it smothered all of his opponent's spells, giving him room to release a horizontal swing with all his strength behind it.
Raigar raised an arm in the way and the sword bit into his forearm... and stuck there. Beneath his robe, instead of a lich's natural arm, there was a thick column of bone showing through the tearing skin. Was that natural bone, created by excessive regeneration? What had Raigar done to his elegantly-crafted body? How could-
The fireball struck Bloodwraith in the chest and he staggered backward. Even as he regained his balance and dodged the next, he cursed his own distraction. Apparently Raigar had modified his body to favor the physical combat he loved so much. That would be an obstacle.