“Oh…,” Tlazo said, visibly enraptured. “I had absolutely no idea that such interesting events had been occurring on the surface.”

It hadn’t taken the apparently supremely skilled surgeon long to do all he could for Hook. Once he’d finished plucking out bone shards from the dwarf’s abdomen, setting his arm with a splint, and sewing him back closed, he presented the dwarf with a healing potion. After eyeing it suspiciously for a moment, Hook had thrown it back with a grimace. According to Tlazo, it was a regeneration potion of his own concoction that would cause his wounds to mostly heal within the next few hours.

I’d actually been brave enough to ask the Lich for the recipe for the potion. Most healing potions weren’t strong enough to completely heal complex internal injuries like that. You had to rely on Healers like Honoka and Renauld instead.

Tlazo had chuckled, scribbled it down on a piece of parchment, and given it to me with his blessing. Afterward, the five of us moved over to sit at a small table in the corner of his lab. There, one of his Orcish undead ‘assisstants’ had brought out tea of all things for us to share.

I…actually liked it. The leaf juice may have been prepared by a zombie, but it honestly wasn’t bad.

I was the only one who ended up touching the provided tea.

I didn’t blame the others for not trying it. Nor did Tlazo, apparently. He just kept questioning Sylvia about the Sculpted, totally unfazed by the way Hook and Sylvia had politely turned it down. Meanwhile, Dusk wasn’t even sitting at the table with us. The Gnoll woman was leaning against the wall and watching the odd conversation in silence, still suspicious of the Lich.

Said Lich laughed out loud delightedly. He actually slapped one of his bony knees, from his spot in the chair he had stopped floating over to fully sit in. “I had no idea old Greycton had it in him!” He crowed. “Creating an entirely new race, fully integrated into the System! Marvellous! Simply marvellous!”

I set down my cup of tea to give Tlazo an incredulous look. “How did you not know? There was a System notification and everything! They even call it the Second Initialization!”

If possible, I think Tlazo’s delight intensified. “A System notification!” He banged one bony palm down on the table, causing his cup of untouched tea to roll off the table and shatter on the stone below. He paused, and then shrugged. “Ah, how truly regretful that I missed it. Unfortunately, as a dead man, I no longer possess my Status and thus never saw this notification. Such a gift is intended only for the living, you see.”

Oh. So this guy didn’t even have a Status anymore.

I don’t think that made him any less dangerous, though. There was a feeling inherent to the Lich that I’d only ever felt from Grey, Honoka, and to a lesser extent, Leonard Ashran.

I blinked at the Lich’s obvious glee and regret. I wasn’t the only one, as Sylvia spoke again after finishing her explanation. “Ah…do you perhaps…know my father, Sir Tlazo?”

I didn’t blame her for the doubt in her voice, but…

Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past Grey at this point.

I was proven right momentarily.

“Ah? Yes, we’re acquainted,” Tlazo answered idly, calming down. The jaws of his odd bear skull clacked and shifted against each other, almost as if he was trying to smile. “You could even say we were colleagues, once upon a time. Your ‘Father’ and I were both apprenticed to the same master, you see. A very long, long time ago.”

I felt a bolt of recognition shoot down my spine. The same master? The person that had died all those years ago against the Calamity Grey had referred to as the ‘Sea Beast’?

Sylvia’s lips parted, obviously recognizing the same thing. A tentative smile crossed her lips. “I didn’t know Father had any fellow apprentices all those years ago. He’s never spoken of you. I…thought the only person from that time still around was Honoka.”

“Mmm, I’m unsurprised that old bat is still kicking,” Tlazo said, unfazed by Sylvia’s questioning. “But yes, your Father and I knew each other quite well for a time. I was even one of the first people he tapped to be Professors after he took the post of Headmaster. My my, I haven’t thought of those years in ages.”

Hook visibly startled, and if he’d tried the tea, I think he would have choked on it. Instead, a hacking cough exited his mouth as he shot the lich an incredulous look. “I…think I know who you are! I thought you were,” Here he paused before continuing sheepishly. “…dead.”

“Oh, I’m quite, quite dead Mr. Hook,” Tlazo said, voice as dry as his bones. “It just didn’t stick, as you can see. However,” He fixed Hook with a suddenly intense stare. “I will ask that you not spread news of my…‘survival’, so to speak. That man is long dead, and I am what remains.”

Hook didn’t let the ensuing tense silence bother him. “Oh, I don’t intend to,” He said shaking his head, suddenly much more respectful. “I was just about to say, if you’re who I think you are, then you’re not an unlicensed Necromancer. Those licenses don’t exactly expire. Just…lapse. I can get yours updated for you if you want. Sir.”

I shuddered at the completely out-of-character admiration in Hook’s voice. I swear to God, it was as if the dwarf was suddenly deep into hero worship for the bag of bones sitting at the table with us.

I think Tlazo was taken aback by it as well. “Ah…” He said slowly. “That won’t be needed. I have no intention of returning to my former practice within Herztal. You see, as we’re currently inside a tomb owned by the Empire of Xilochtlan, I do not require my license. Furthermore, I am actually here with Orcish approval.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Really?” I asked, interested. “So, they know you’re down here?”

“Indeed,” Tlazo said, nodding. “In fact, I’m currently under contract with the city of Tlatec. Oh yes,” He laughed at our shocked expressions. “I’m a bonafide civil servant!”

I winced at the pun.

So.

He was like that.

“You see, this mausoleum collapsed in on itself some fifty years ago, to the dismay of the Tlatec officials,” Tlazo said, adopting a lecturing tone. Now that he was getting in on it, I could easily see how this guy had been a Professor. “The cause was determined to be simple age and neglect. The amount of bodies stored inside was too great for the lower levels to withstand. It crumbled under the weight into these tunnels below. At the time, I was searching for a new nexus of deathly Aether to continue my research, as my previous abode had been exhausted. I heard from the, ah, let us say ‘grapevine’, that the Empire was searching for a specialist to employ in handling the resulting restless dead. The bureaucracy on Indiqua was unwilling to send out one of their own necromancers to such a backwater, you see. Thus, I put forth my bid, and was thus gratefully contracted by the city of Tlatec to reconstruct the mausoleum. In due time, of course. My payment comes in the form of siphoning deathly Aether from my new assistants.” He finished by nodding at an approaching undead Orc carrying a broom. “And I intend to extract every. Last. Drop. That I can, from the interred here.”

We watched in stunned silence as the zombie swept up the shattered remnants of Tlazo’s teacup into a dustbin. When it was done, it shuffled away, having completed its task in total silence.

I cut my eyes over to Hook when it was gone, desperate for something to get us out of this odd situation. I didn’t know how much longer I could take ludicrous sights like that before I started laughing like a madman.

Thankfully, he bailed me out.

Hook stood up from his chair with a wince. “Well, thank you for your hospitality, Sir Tlazo,” He said hoarsely, doing his best to smile. It came out more like a grimace. “But we need to get moving. I’m afraid we have business in the cities above. If you could direct us to the passageway into Tlatec…? I’m afraid I don’t recognize the path, after the collapse.”

Tlazo refocused on us, recognizing the hint when it was dropped. He floated to his feet gracefully, nodding. “Of course, of course,” He said graciously. “I shall have one of my assistants lead you to the stairway. I must return to my research in any case. Do give my regards to your Father when next you see him, young lady.” He finished, talking to Sylvia.

“Ah…of course, Sir Tlazo,” Sylvia said hesitatingly. “I will…pass along your words. Who shall I say they are from?”

Tlazo paused for a moment, obviously remembering that he had given us a false name. “Oh yes,” He said, tapping a bony digit on the surface of his chin. “Tell him it’s from the Pigsnatcher!” He finally cackled. “He’ll get the reference then!” Still chuckling, Tlazo made a gesture with one of his left arms. Moments later, one of his Orcish assistants shuffled its way over to us. The undead servant didn’t even look our way before passing our group and walking off into the darkness beyond Tlazo’s strange green lamps.

Exchanging a glance with the rest of the group, we followed after the undead that was supposed to be leading us out of here. After a short walk in total silence, the undead led us to a large circular door set into the far wall of the cavern. This, at least, was more familiar than the Lich’s odd laboratory. The door was obviously carved in a similar style to the stonework I’d seen both on the walls of Tlatec and the upper reaches of the mausoleum above.

The undead laid one limp palm on the door, causing runes that had previously been hidden in the darkness to light up with oddly red-colored Mana. Seconds later, the door rolled to the side, exposing a long, drafty corridor.

Hook nodded in relief at the sight of it. I guess he recognized this as the back entrance into Tlatec. We stepped forward, but were stopped on the other side of the door.

“Oh, and as a courtesy to the daughter of an old friend, I’ll say this,” Tlazo’s voice said, echoing out of the darkness as if he was standing just outside of the door. But he wasn’t there.

Only darkness filled the space the voice came from.

“I may not have known about your war, but I did know something was going on,” The Lich continued. “I was, quite surprisingly, approached by something truly extraordinary during my years of labor and research. They wished to enlist my aid in a little scheme of theirs. However, they were a bit too…” Tlazo paused for a fraction of a second before continuing. “Bloodthirsty, for my tastes. I politely turned them down. I will not name this person, as I quite emphatically do not need any more enemies. But I will say this much. Do be careful, children. I believe there to be something…deeper to your little spat than meets the eye. Take care now. Toodles.” With the necromancer’s bizarrely cheerful warning echoing in our ears, the door to the Lich’s cavern slid closed once more before we could even question him.

Leaving us to stand in momentary darkness, before it was pierced by the light of illuminating Skills reigniting.

Now I could see the stunned expressions on everyone else's faces from the out-of-the-blue portent. I’m sure I looked the same to them.

I broke the silence in the tunnel. “What the fuck?”

“I…don’t know,” Hook said, looking lost. “I have no idea what he’s talking about. It’s like he’s implying there’s another factor to the war we don’t know about.”

“What could he possibly mean by deeper?” Sylvia asked quietly. To that, nobody had an answer.

Hook shook his head vigorously, wincing after he did so. “We’ll look into it later. Right now, I want to get out of this damn hellhole.”

With that, we set off down the tunnel. I don’t know about everyone else, but I was definitely still thinking about the odd encounter with the Lich there at the end. Tlazo hadn’t struck me as the kind of person to speak without reason to, so I was disinclined to disregard his words.

I couldn’t do anything about it right now, though, so I pushed it aside.

Right now, we had to get out of here.

………………………………..

It only took us about another fifteen minutes of walking in silence to reach a spiral staircase at the end of the path. I couldn’t help a sense of relief from rolling over me at the sight, and I don’t think I was the only one. I heard more than one slight sigh of relief now that our way out was before us.

That probably led to us not being as cautious as we should’ve been, as we climbed the stairs. They were quite long, costing us another ten minutes of effort to reach the door at the end. That didn’t surprise me, though. The level that Tlazo’s laboratory had been on was quite far beneath the surface of Vereden. Around the edges of the strangely mundane door that we eventually reached, I could see glorious, beautiful sunlight. It looked to be fading, however. We had originally entered the crypt very early in the morning, so we must have spent upwards of ten hours in that tomb.

Hook had the lock on the door open in seconds. Keeping one hand on the door, he turned to look at us and nodded. Dusk, Sylvia, and I returned it. The dwarf turned back to the door and slowly, slowly cracked it open to look outside.

He needn’t have bothered being so stealthy.

Heavily armored, sausage-thick fingers slipped into the crack that Hook had opened in the door. In moments, it had been wrenched open to reveal an absolutely massive grey-skinned figure wielding a greatsword hewn from what looked to be obsidian.

Hook stilled when the razor-sharp blade of the sword touched his throat.

“You’re under arrest,” The Orc growled at us.