The screamers were all gone, we’d chewed up a lot of the lower-level smart Skeletons. The changes we’d made had not been radical, but they were enough to clearly shift the battle in our favor. We were grinding them down, without risk to our people. The perfect powerleveling scenario. So of course, that’s when it at hit the rotary oscillator.

The Skeleton captain came out, surrounded by a cluster of lieutenants and sergeants, all fresh from the temple. That was okay and expected, it’s what came out after them that threw our plans out the window.

A tall slender skeleton in sumptuous cloth of gold stepped out and raise his hands into the air. Hands which glowed with green eldritch power.

I hit it with an ID right away, but I was shocked at what came back

I sent a guild wide message [All Troops, focus on the lich. It may take damage from magical weapons, so used blessed if you have it. splash blessed water on your weapon if you don’t. They can teleport and kill with one word. Our only hope is to kill it fast. GO! Be happy it’s not lvl 17 like the normal ones. Caster damage, use potions if you have them]

I bumped the tax rate to 50% per my agreement, then moved on to combat.

I started casting Xena bolt at it, but the chakram were hitting the ground with puffs do dirt well short of the target. I stopped before I used the last of my steel chakram. The green light on the necro-lich’s hand washed up over the lich and it disappeared.

Plum called out [Bill, it’s under you! Watch out.]

I was still at the front firing slit and looked down, a wave of darkness shot out from under our tower, smashing into the gate, blasting it apart. I flipped up the trap door and the lich was floating above the water of the fountain wrapped in a shimmering shield. With a flip of my hand, and shape, I splashed a wave of the holy water all over it. It’s shield popped and its glowing bones began to smoke. The lich made no other reaction. I cast Xena Bolt at its hand, trying to interrupt its next cast The chakram blasted into its wrist, sending chips of bone flying, bounced off a post and back at the lichs hand again. The lichs skull turned to look at me, it’s glowing green eyes boring into my soul. The circle of metal bounced off it’s hand again. More chips went flying, I called the ring of steel back to my hand. The Lich opened its mouth to speak and I slammed the trap door shut. Can’t let it get us with Power Word kill. A one word spell that instantly kills you. Or Finger of Death, that converts you instanly to undead slavery. I don’t know if it has those spells, but I have to stay on top of it. Using shape blindly, I tried to fill the area below the tower with a storm of water from the fountain.

An Immensely loud scream came from below the tower, and an explosion rocked us to the ground.

Sgt. Plum spoke again [Bill, it blew up South East leg of the tower. Then moved out to this side].

I hopped up to the firing slit on that side, the tower still rocking. With a flick of my hand, I Xena blasted the same bony wrist again. The spinning circle of metal bounced off the wrist in a shower of chips and back to my hand. The Lich’s hand was still attached. I heard the hatch open behind me. Turning my head I just saw two dark shapes dive out through the hatch headed for the lich.]

The scream and explosion happened again; another leg just got blasted away.

I shouted in chat [Healers on Thor and Jim]

Sgt Plum came on chat again [Melee Skele’s advancing on Bill, moving to intercept.] and I hear the crash of a section of fence.

I turned, “Onu, Fannon lets go.” And slid out the hatch and to the ground. When I hit the ground, I pulled my langsaex with my right hand, holding my steel chackram in my right. Both Thorbjorn and Jimni were up and fighting. Good the dodged that blast.

Thor had hit the lich with Danu’s Touch, and it was turning to face him. Flames were licking all of the lich’s skeleton and its bar was at 50%. The lich pointed one bony hand at Thor and opened its mouth. Power word kill, or Finger of death, both were bad.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I launched the circle of metal. It blasted straight into the Lich’s mouth. A spray of teeth flew as the chakram hit. Instead of bouncing, I held it in place. I used shape to twist the metal wrapping the lich’s jaws shut.

Thorbjorn ran at the lich his glowing Dane axe held high. The lich’s hands tried to pry the steel from its jaws.

I was out of Chakram and needed both hands to make more. I shot steel darts at its eyes as I ran. We are way to low level to be facing a lich, even a baby lich like this one. Fuck. This is going to be bad.

I head the distinctive sound of Plum’s shieldwall smashing into the Skeleton Captains’ troops, like a truckload of drum kits were dropped all at once and just kept bouncing. I hear Plum shout “Healers Free”, which told them to ignore my orders and heal where they thought best. I tossed back a mana potion, knowing I was low.

Thor’s beloved Dane axe crashed into the lich, where the neck met the shoulder, smashing deeply into the lich and blasting it to the ground by the fence. My darts knocked chips off it’s skull but missed the eyes. A wave of blue light from behind us lit its bones ablaze with blue flames. Onu was working too.

The lich rolled with the momentum and came to a stop, one hand pointing at Thor. Black smoke blasts from its claw and into Thor like a fist, shooting him up into the air and over our heads. FUCK! I hear him thud into the tower behind us.

Jimni roars as he launches himself at the Lich, Kicking its head as hard as he can. Then smashing his weapon into its back. The lich spins lashing out at Jimni with both feet. He gets tossed 6 feet away from the lich laying still on the ground. The lich begins to rise, moving it’s back to the fence. A wave of water smashes into the lich from behind, coving the lich again in blue flames and drenching Jimni where he is just shaking his head and starting to rise. Clearly Yamina is on the Job.

Jimni’s eyes freeze in horror, and I turn my head to look, Onu crouches over the broken form of Thorbjorn, who lies in a position only possible due to many broken bones. Onu knocks back his Mana potion and yells “I need to recall with him, I can’t save him here”.

I Shout “GO!”.

I turn to Fannon “We need to give them 10 seconds”. I turn to rush the flaming Lich. Its bar is at 20%. I launch myself at the Lich my shield edge on, as I get close, I punch the edge of my square shield into it with all my strength, momentum and rage. The lich smashes back into the fence. It’s arm on my side is limp from Thorbjorns axe, so I throw an off side shot up and over the shield, smashing the lichs other arm at the shoulder. Desperate for time, I pin it there and use shape to wrap mey langsaex around it’s arm like a python ,weaving it in and out of its ribs pinning the arm in place. Where the steel touches bone, it burns like a blowtorch. Point Danu for blessing the steel. The lich twists, and kicks me straight into Fannon and we go down in a pile.

Jimni is back on his feet, his empty hand wrapped around the necklace and he howls at the sky. His howl deepens into a roar and he throws his weapon aside, and runs at the lich. Jimni’s eyes are afire with madness and his mouth a grinning rictus of rage with spit and blood dripping out. With his first step Jimni grows bigger and is covered in blue light. At his second step, his human roar changes to the immense roar of a cave bear as he melts and blurs, hair sprouting everywhere. His 3rd step transforms into some half giant/half bear hybrid at least 8 feet tall. The lich dives to one side evading its rush. As what used to be Jimni crashes through the fence one immense hand /paw flashes out and grabs the lich by a leg. The lich ragdolls as the beast rolls to halt burning off it’s moments. The Lich smashes to the ground with each roll. I notice that once it leaves the mud, the lich stops taking damage. Fuck it’s immune to non-magical damage.

Bear/Jimni stands, and grabs both of the lich’s feet with both hands, and does a passable ‘Puny God’ impersonation smashing the lich repeatedly into the ground at the bear things feet.

The lich’s health bar still isn’t moving. On chat I shout [Yamina drench them, Jimni’s attacks are non-magical, he’s taking no damage.]

I use shape to make a ball of mud from my feet and launch it at the lich with Xena blast. One of the healers at the back of Plums formation turns to Jimni and raises a hand and flashes blue light. An Icon appears next to Jimni picture on my party bar, a sword surrounded in blue light. That’s a new one.

The lich’s bar begins to drop with each “Smash!”, and a full sized Yamina dumps a barrel of water on them both.

Soon pieces of bone begin to fly as Bear/Jimni smashes anew, when all the bones were disarticulated, his fists began the smash the bones into the mud, still roaring with fury.

I turned to the captain and his skeletons, and see that Plums wall has pushed them back into the bless field. Plus, Yamina had water napalmed them thoroughly. The armored skeletons stood in mud that smoldered and smoked on them like lava. Spears and maces, slip past the wall, striking them repeatedly. As the Skeletons health ticked down, you could see Plums team ticking back up on raid view.

I moved to the fence and began to pull chakram out of it and toss them into my inventory. When I had 6, I kept the last two in my hands and Fannon and I began to run at the skeletons, to hit them on the flank.

As I ran, I began an ululating cry of ”Ayi Ayi Ayi Ayi Ayi!”