While the demon was busy trying to seize territory from both humans and monsters, the Lich King found himself readying for a strange meeting, even for him. A few miles away from his base camp lay a large clearing, what the humans called a trailer park.

Apparently, the trailers were gone, leaving only large rectangle spaces untouched by overgrown shrubbery. The Lich had was not seeing this with his own eyes because he had sent a zombie avatar to scout it out.

One thing the Lich had no shortage of was good reconnaissance. Whether it was flying, tiny creatures that could crawl in and out of a small space, or, like what he used now, a direct avatar summons that allowed him to see through its eyes.

The Lich had either seen for himself or heard back from trusted sources that only one being was anywhere near here. That being was a diminutive werewolf carrying nothing but a magical staff.

Sitting on a stump in the middle of the abandoned park, he appeared to be in some sort of meditation. Finally accepting that this was not an ambush, the Lich began the relatively short walk with his entourage.

Accompanying the Lich was his normal Vargeist lifeguard and a trio of elite goblin skirmishers. Each one was sworn to protect the Lich by the pain of death due to a magic spell. What made them participate in such a pact was the powerful necromantic enhancements the Lich offered each of them, plus the promise of eternal life due to his spirit and soul magic techniques.

Many narrow-minded mages, mostly human, thought that necromancy was just a school to raise undead and perform other death-related spells. When, in fact, it could help or hinder the living in ways many spellcasters only dreamed of.

He imagined that was what this wolf wanted from him. There was no proof as to what it wanted one way or the other. All he knew was that a powerful potential ally wanted to meet, and he had something the Lich would be thrilled to have.

Like all beings of immense power, such as the Lich, the thought of acquiring more power was intoxicating. He had already considered taking this wolf hostage and procuring whatever he had to offer without giving anything. Let's see what it had to say first; he had to admit that he was intrigued.

As the Lich walked up, bodyguards in tow, the wolf spoke first.

“Greetings, Lich King. I am Torak, Arch Mage, and Imperator. You may refer to me as any of the three. Do you have a name, or should I just call you Lich?”

The necromancer was taken aback for multiple reasons at the start of this strange encounter. For one and most trivial of the reasons, the wolf had an odd accent. He wouldn't know what to call it, but the oddity that this undead was experiencing is what humans called a British accent.

The second and most important thing giving him pause was that the wolf spoke the words directly into his head. The Lich was no stranger to powerful and rare spells, but he wasn't used to them being used so casually, nor had he seen this particular skill used.

He thought about answering in his head but thought better of it, “My name died with my mortality. You can call me Lich, King, or Necromancer; any of the three would be fine.” Hah, that would show him, the Lich thought.

It looked like the wolf was holding back a sneer, or was it a laugh? It was hard to tell. The Lich was not versed in the facial expressions of humans, no less those of wizened old wolves.

“Why have you asked me to come here, wolf?” He said the last word like a curse. It's odd how every species thinks every other species is below them. It was also quite rude since he was just told how to refer to his counterpart in this meeting.

“I have something you will be interested in acquiring, but what is the rush? Do necromancers not engage in small talk?” Again, this was in the Lich’s head; he was too proud to point it out, not wanting to diminish his standing in front of his bodyguard.

One of the downsides to being evil: you always have to prove your strength, even to your underlings.

“I do not have time to talk about small things. My focus is on large and important matters. Do you think raising the dead is a small matter, wolf?” Now he was getting testy.

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Torak really did need something, so he steered the conversation in a way to soothe this thing's ego. “Of course, I do not,” this he said out loud. His voice was far less guttural than it had been, but he would still sound monstrous to most human ears.

“As a matter of fact, I asked you to come here so that I could learn something from you. They say you are the best Lich around these parts, hence the King moniker, I suppose.”

When the Lich didn't answer, he continued. “I will explain what I need from you in a moment, but first let me give you a little gift.” The bodyguards tensed, as this was the way many villains, like them, would spring the ambush.

But no, the wolf appeared to say a short incantation, and a bag of some sort appeared in his hand. “Are you familiar with these, Lich? I think the humans call them in-fe-net bags.” He struggled to say the word and did so syllable by syllable. He was speaking out loud now as he had proven his point. Also, there was no need to spook this creature anymore, at least not yet.

The Lich had seen humans with bags like that, but they weren't special. He could tell that this was not a stupid creature, so he humored it, “I know humans use them to carry their ridiculous valuables. Is that one special in some way?”

“Very astute, it is very special. Let me show you.” There was a pretty big rock on the ground a few feet from Torak. He walked over and picked it up, the bodyguards really roused now, but the Lich was getting curious, so he calmed them with a hand gesture.

Picking up the rock, the wolf dropped it into the bag, and even from 15 feet away, it appeared to disappear into the bag. The wolf held it out, “Send one of your underlings over to claim the bag, and you will see.”

Doing just that, one of the goblins snatched the bag from the wolf. It paused when it didn't sense any weight. Its base instincts made the goblin contemplate running with this apparent valuable item, but that only lasted half a second; it handed it to its master.

The Lich grabbed the bag and obviously noticed that it had no weight. “Open it,” Torak said.

Trying to figure out the scheme, he could think of none, so he opened it. It was empty. Okay, some kind of disappearing bag, a cute trick, but what need would he have for it.

“Now put your hand inside and think how you want the rock to appear.”

Peering at the wolf, he did just that, and just like that, he had a large rock in his hand. The Lich tried it again a few more times with items from his person, getting the same result every time.

“You are giving this to me for what reason?” always suspicious of kindness. No one gave something without thoughts of getting more back in return.

“I have need of your expertise, and I want to make a deal that will help us both. To establish trust, I bring you this gift. It is yours to take with you no matter how our negotiation goes,” the wolf explained.

“What will you do if I just take the bag and leave?” the Lich snapped back.

Slowly, as if talking to a child, the wolf replied, “Like I said, the bag is yours no matter what else happens. I would, however, caution you against not hearing me out.” He smiled a preparatory smile, and for the first time since he could remember, the Lich recoiled.

“I will hear you out, mage, what do you want?”

“Before I tell you, first I must find out how much you know. Do you know how you came to be in this world?”

The Lich lacked any real magical perception, so he did not know if this creature was the real deal or not. It was either crazy or a genius. He didn't understand the question but was smart enough to realize that just by the nature of it being asked, there must be something he should know.

He figured he would play along and try to glean any information he could.

“I was in a magical slumber for centuries. Our personal memories do not remain, but that is so we retain our skills,” he said evenly.

“Was your body protected? Was the organization you remember being a part of still exist when you awoke?”

Torak questioned him very casually, as if he was asking if he remembered his favorite meal.

“The cowards assigned to guard my chamber were not there, and that is because fellow necromancers are jealous of anyone else's power. They probably left me to be killed by some peasant grave robber.”

“Hmmm, I could see how that would make sense. At least to someone not prone to deeper thought.” The wolf said this to himself; it looked like.

The Lich was now interested in what he was getting at but was not used to ignoring insults. As he thought about what he should do, the wolf asked him something else.

“Did you ever consider how odd it was for you to wake up unguarded in what I imagine was some random and unfamiliar place?”

Again, the Lich thought for a moment. He then turned to his bodyguards, “I sense that our chambers may be in danger. This wolf poses me no threat; go back to base and make sure it is safe. Yusef,” after calling one of the goblins' names, he looked toward his base, looking for a landmark, “wait at that large tree for me to finish and make sure the area stays secure.”

He didn't wait for them to respond before turning back to the wolf. Lowering his voice, the Lich finally showed his hand, “No, I never thought of that. I was focused on reestablishing myself as the dominant wielder of undead magic in this admittedly strange world. Why do you ask, mage, speak plainly.”

The wolf smiled, a smile that even made this King of the undead feel uneasy, “Oh, my undead friend, you have a lot to learn.”

The Lich waited for him to continue. Eventually, the wolf went on, “There are many secrets in this world. A good deal of them center around a human that beat you in a battle not that long ago. Do you recall the battle? It was on a farm, and this human fired projectiles from a small black weapon. The humans call it a gun, he seems to be the only human with a functioning variant.”

He remembered every battle he lost, more so than those he won. “I know this battle. You say he is special, besides just having that weapon?”