20 years ago.
I looked up, sensing invaders in my domain. I was not ready. They had come earlier than expected, likely to disrupt whatever ritual they knew I was planning. It was going to be close to see if they'd succeed. The ritual wasn't one of great malice or evil however. Not one that spawned a wave of armoured undead, led by an archfiend from a deep layer of hell like I had done in the past. Nothing quite so sinister. Instead this ritual was to– I jerked, shaking away my thoughts. They had a mindcaster.
Quickly, I ordered my nearest minions to rush out of the entrance to this part of the cave. The two minor fiends, one slightly larger than the other, wouldn't last long against a specialised force, I knew. But the easy pickings should make the Church's forces cautious. And that would give me time. Picking up a heavy wooden staff tipped with a dark onyx, I turned and slammed the butt of it into the floor. At the entrance of the cavern, I could make out stalactites forming, moulding the hint of corridors into what seemed like natural formations. Quickly glancing at a crystal ball to my right, I saw the two fiends stuck in fierce combat with the party.
Analysing their formation with two blue flames socketed deep into my chalky skull, I speculated at their specialisations. At the front, there was an obvious tank. Massively built and decked out in plate armour that slightly hindered his movement and holding a tower shield with glowing sigils, he struggled slightly at blocking the blows of the larger fiend before attempting to retaliate with a heavy blow from the axe at his shoulder.
Behind the tank, hiding behind a stalactite, was the mindcaster. She was dressed in a leather gambeson and her eyes were shut tight. Snapping them open, I saw her yell something to the man behind her. The man, this one with two curved swords, one slightly shorter – almost a dagger – and leather covering his vitals, nodded and went to help the tank. Curious. At this point, the second fiend had noticed the gap and rushed forwards past both the Tank and the Swordsman who ignored him.
I was about to berate them in my head when a shadow landed on the back of the second fiend. Ah an assassin. Not many chose that route. Assassins were highly specialised versions of rogues. They went the direction of mastering their stealth then aiming to kill opponents instantly before hiding away again in a moment of distraction. With the help of the mindcaster, that would happen with deadly regularity.
I was already lamenting the early death of the fiend when a ripple of earth from the magic I had cast reached that section of caverns. The fiend stumbled making the assassin's dagger carve into its shoulder leaving a long gash which then started to flake away at a rapid pace.
The poor fiend was about to turn to catch the nimble rogue, when an arrow appeared in one of it's eyes. I looked away from the crystal. I had things to do. There was no doubt in my mind that my two minions were done for.
Checking that my set up was ready, I began. I had set up a runic circle made of powdered quartz surrounding a pedestal. Upon that pedestal was a gemstone as black as night. Despite this, it shone; veins of amber flashing through it like orange lightning. The chamber itself was bare but for these two things. Pushing down my anxiety, I approached the gemstone, careful not to scuff the markings. Removing any last thoughts from my mind, I placed my bone hand upon the gemstone.
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We moved into the final room. The last fight had been suspiciously easy: after Iiana stabbed the second fiend, we were able to grind it down taking turns to kite it. They may have been strong and tough, but they weren't the brightest. The only surprise in the fight was the ripple of strong earth mana that changed the room. Before, it had been a simple carved chamber with an entrance and an exit. Now it was a maze of piercing rock and jagged stone. If this was the calibre of Lich we had to face, then we were vastly unprepared. More likely, it was an artefact from a past empire that the Lich had collected. Whatever it was, it had destroyed everything, including traps. Everything, that was, past this room.
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After breaking through the stone door, we entered a vast hallway. The ceiling was invisible with how high it was and the entire corridor was built with a king in mind. Pillars vanished into the inky heights stone figurines, likely gargoyles, hidden stealthily among them. At the end of the hallway was a throne covered in soft velvet and encrusted with diamonds. That alone would cover the costs of the dive. Sitting on the throne a bored look entombed on its skeletal face, eyes burning with blue fire and a giant standing 8 feet. It towered over even Derek our tank.
“So you have come to kill me have you?”
It boomed, voice echoing menacingly through the hall. Likely, the abomination had crafted it with that in mind.
“Do you weaklings even know who I am? I am the greatest Lich of all time. Even the ruler of Goream fears my wrath. And yet here you are. Puny mortals knocking on the gates of Hell. Shall I collect your souls? They will make a fine addition to my collection.”
I gestured to our hired mindcaster to remove its protections. A risky endeavor but one that couldn't truly hurt. All I had to do was keep it monologuing.
“We are the adventurers team of the Church of Mythros! We came seeking treasure and the bounty on your head.”
The creature laughed. Maniacal cackles travelling and multiplying throughout the hall.
“Treasures I have. Overwhelming strength too. But hypothetically,” it said smugly, assured of its victory, “Should you miraculously beat me, how will you share the spoils?”
I had prepared for this. We had agreed before hand and crafted contracts within our party.
“You shall not separate us, fiend!” I shouted hoping to aggravate it into a rant, “You are but a monster! You have sent out waves of creatures to pillage, rape, and take people upon whom you then experimented on in your halls. You shall pay for your sins.” The fiend merely looked bored but it carried on regardless.
“Ah, so you're one of those fanatics are you. Though I had believed Mythros more intelligent than that. Ah well.” It sighed before shaking its head disappointedly.
Our mindcaster nudged me before urgently whispering. “There's something wrong. I got rid of the protections but I cannot feel its mind. I think it may be a construct.”
I grew alarmed and the grave face I spotted on the mindcaster's reflected my fears.
Signalling to Iiana, I had her drop onto the Lich's back. He didn't even notice. It was a trick.
“Destroy it. Now.” I shouted to the party. Our attempts to catch it monologuing had worked against us. The cave began to rumble as I gave the command and I saw the throne tilt slightly.
“Under the throne! Move!”
The party rushed towards it. Derek being the strongest, heaved on one side tipping it over with a crash to reveal a passageway. Here we could see artefacts of Legend among which was the mythical Staff of Earthshaping. The culprit of the newly formed caverns. At the far end were two doors. One was closed, the other opened to reveal a library filled to the brim with books and journals.
Through the gaps in the closed doorway, we could see the glow of mana being used... the Lich. Derek immediately began to prepare but our Kensai, Garok pushed him aside. Striding up to the door, he sliced a cross into the heavy wood before kicking it in with a crash.
This was definitely the door. As we entered, we could see the real Lich. Despite the situation, I was disappointed. It was nowhere near as impressive, nor as intimidating as the construct. The rumbling grew louder as he grinned at us mockingly. As a last ditch effort, I aimed, nocked, drew, aimed again and in one swift motion released an arrow at the runic circle at the floor. I was rewarded with a look of terror on the Lich's face before I turned and began to run. Iiana had already stuffed a bag full of the artefacts. One of them had to be the phylactery.
At this point, all we had to do was get out and we would have done it. Behind us, the cave started collapsing and I smiled with grim satisfaction at the feeling of mana surging behind us. I had managed to mess up one of the runes. Backtracking through the hallway, the construct was where we had left it.
Our party charged down the hall, uncaring for any traps we had missed. The mindcaster had other plans however, and turning back, she attempted to remove the jewel encrusted cloth from the throne.
“Leave it you idiot!” I shouted but before I could drag her away, I watched in horror as rocks buried her along with the throne. Once again I started to run, rocks snapping like the hounds of Hellion himself behind me. There was no saving him.
Eventually, we made it to the more stable parts of the dungeon. Here, it was more natural rock but it was supported with beams of reinforced wood. Heaving a sigh of relief and saying a prayer to my chosen deity – Ea, not Mythros as I had told the Lich's construct – I bade farewell to our fallen companion. Greedy though she may have been, she was a benefit to our party.