Staring down at the robbers who dared to enter her property, she had a sigh.
Sighing wasn’t something she usually did. After all, she stopped drawing breath altogether for decades at this point. But today, sighing felt like the thing to do. The raspy, phlegmy inspiration abated in a pathetic wheeze, her out of shape muscles straining to produce their effect.
She tried to speak, and it came out a strangled mess, yet another result of her isolation.
Setting down her knitting needles and the cute pullover she was working on, she tapped her throat, annoyed.
“Maawp! Mawp ! maap!” She finally said, working her jaw as her voice cracked and broke as it stabilized enough to be used.
“Hrrm hmmrrrhh. You got some balls, young ones.” She crossed her arms over her chest, dust clouds puffing out of her robe. It was a very pretty and precious one, once. “What did you think you were achieving entering my manor like a hurricane and destroying my help?” She frowned, staring down at the youngsters flat on their asses, her gaze onto their supposed leader. Howard, the other hooligans called him.
Goodness gracious, all of this was a disaster.
First, her skeleton gardeners and security got axed no matter how many times she raised them back.
Then, her entrance, main hall and atrium were constantly raided and emptied out of her stuff, nothing of great value, for she kept her treasures and significant items into her own bedroom and treasure vaults, but foodstuff and guest accommodations.
And now, after weeks sending her help trying to fix the damages, these savages entered her quarters and tried to kill her. Her!
What did she do to deserve this ?
Tapping her fingers on her arms, he impatiently stomped “Well, anything to say for yourself before I ‘enroll’ you to fix the mess you just made ?” Her eyes narrowed, already trying to figure out what they would be best working on.
“W..we didn’t know ! We wanted to hire a Taskmaster and Andrei, our contact, told us to come here and search for a woman called ... Quiche ?” The insolent One tried to plead. A very pitiful lie, no doubt. Andrei, that boy, knew there was no Quiche inside her lair, she was lactose intolerant! “Anyway, the place was haunted by a lot of undead, and we uh ... though the person we tried to contact was ... dead and her place invaded by... your help...”
Another one, his staff broken, went to the rescue. “We did not know what to expect, Andrei was very evasive. We just thought this place became a lair for the undead. We applied the Guild’s Policy and came in to clear the place of their influence, according to our duties. We are truly sorry we bothered your uh ... activities” He trailed off, eyeing her knitting work-in progress.
During the whole “battle”, if she could consider what they did was fighting, she barely looked away from her needle’s work, only stopping once the four of them were downed by a flurry of very basic magic blows aiming at their vital areas. It only lasted a couple minutes, but the pain and shame would last for days, especially for their Whip/Sword wielding leader, as she made a point to hit him square between the legs, as he so rudely tried to have a swing at the scarf she was making then.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, the Lich, Quincy Weaver of her real name, tried to calm down, her temper menacing to make short work of the group of whippersnappers and prospective employers.
“Alright. Let’s imagine I believe you. I guess Andrei, that lil’ kid forgot to tell you to be polite. Knocking on the door would have sufficed.”
“Little Kid ? Ma’am, the man is pushing in his 70’s.” one of them muttered.
“Oh,” she realized, “That long ? Damn... I've been tending to my property for six decades? No wonder I'm covered in dust.” She stared back to her chair, surrounded by a perfect circle of an inch thick layer of dust. No one of her “help” dared to bother her when she worked on her projects. She probably will need to have them on snooze or something every month or so. “I wished to lay low following my awakening as a Lich. But I did not intend to stay out of the loop for that long. I guess I’ll resume my activities as a Taskmaster by taking on your demand. Say, Howard is it ? What do you need from me?”
----------------------------------------
“Hmm. It is indeed an annoying situation for that small place you call Verdoyant.” She pondered, her withered fingers still working away at her needlework. “I see why you would come and seek someone like me instead of relying on the Guild’s handouts.”
“We really need these monsters dealt with before they can multiply into the forest. The villagers organized, but even though they just found a True One within their bloodlines, they don’t have the money to hire mercenaries all year round.” Howard insisted, sitting down with his team near the Lich, holding a cup of tepid, past expiration tea. “They are starting to get desperate, since the Guild refuses them any help. They say they are too busy dealing with that monster migration near the Silent mounds and important commercial roads to care for a small place like that yet.” Steeling himself, he took a sip. His brows raised, that tea was not bad after all.
“They think the Guild is doing it on purpose so the monsters settle and increase the need for their services. Of course, the Headcounselor wouldn’t want any of that. Please, Miss Weaver of the Black guilds, it’s been a while, but nobody forgot about you under your nickname, ‘Pushing Daisy’. They need your help, and are ready to pay the price.”
The young Lich would have blushed if any blood still ran through her veins. This Howard really knew how to ask for favors.
“Fine, little Howard. I guess I could take a moment to address your request. I’ll come and help them out.” She said, putting aside her work, motioning to her skeleton staff into action. “However, i need to prepare, i cannot go out like this, i must look dreadful!” She muttered, motioning to her dusty robes. She snapped her bony fingers, and one of her butlers clickety clack’d near the table, bringing forth on a silver platter an alchemical glass orb, softly glowing green.
Howard edged forward, taking a good look, like the rest of his crew.
“What’s this ?” Asked Dijeau, eyes glowing softly “I can feel a faint trace of mana, this thing is ancient.”
“Oh, this is a little bauble a friend of mine gave me when i was a youth. This is one of the original Orbs of Dread made by my friend Thomas the Tinkerer.” Her teeth clacked in mirth as the adventurers recoiled from the table quickly. “Do not worry too much, dears. It is merely the same kind of tool you’d use to fix a roach infestation... but meant for bigger, meaner things.” She tapped the glass where it was the thinnest. “This little toy here acts very much like a scarecrow. You set it up somewhere deep in the woods, where the monsters are the most numerous. Once it activates, it’ll scare the shit out of everything alive in earshot. We often used this during our travels to keep nuisances away. I’ll lend this to you.”
Howard inched closer still, examining it. “How does it work? just by infusing mana inside?”
Quincy nodded “You pour your mana inside until it triggers. it’ll last for a couple days, scaring the daylights of everything in range.” She confirmed. “Sadly, There is no way to accurately tell where the monsters will be where you ought to, at least they’ll be gone.”
“Thank you, Archmage, we will bring this to them immediately.” Howard dipped his head in respect, taking the Orb and placing it in a stuffed bag to protect it during transport.
“It’s only a loan, so please bring it back to me along with a token of their appreciation. Since I probably won’t need to come in person, I'll take only half on the agreed upon commission Andrei asked for. I’ll send one of my staff to monitor the situation with you. If any problem arises, I'll be coming myself. In that case, I'll take the commission in full.” Not waiting for an answer, the Lich shooed them away with her bony hand. “Go now, Move along. I have a lot to do to make up for my lost time. My little helper will be with you shortly.”