Aborsphinx watched The Lich from a place unknown. It was what he liked to refer to as “The Beyond”, an untouchable space in between reality that allows him to remain completely hidden. He was contemplating whether or not to get involved, after all he couldn’t let it die until his superior deemed it necessary.

The Lich stood his ground, awaiting the inevitable attack from the mutant moles. As one of the moles began to sprint on all-fours towards him, it seemed clear that their hostility was also enhanced by the influence of magic. This was easy to tell due to the pure aggression they appeared to harbor.

Once the beast got close enough to swipe at him with its claws, The Lich performed a powerful straight punch towards its nose. The punch was flawless and upon impact had the cracking of the beast’s bones ringing out for all to hear as it was flung backwards into the crowd of moles, becoming limp. With that single punch, the creature’s brain was impaled by a broken bone, killing it instantly.

Aborsphinx watched the incredible attack from The Lich, remaining still and emotionless, yet a twinge of fear panged him as it made him realize that no help was needed.

A deformed smile ran across The Lich’s almost skinless jaw. It was barely noticeable since that area contained such little flesh, yet it could still fill anybody who witnessed it with a sense of dread.

What continued could only be called a massacre as punches flew left and right at the persistent and relentless bear-sized moles. For the most part, they went down with only a single punch to either the chest or head. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately for the malformed beasts, The Lich did take a few slashes that damaged his already near lifeless body.

Even with the hits that would slow down or be fatal to most barely phased him as he carried on his decimation of the species. Eventually, after a while of constant attacking, the beasts’ barrage ceased and they were all revealed to be dead, spread out across the battlefield.

The battle was finished and The Lich had the bloodless wounds to show for it. Even his cloak, which he tried to keep away from the razor sharp claws, became tattered, but thankfully did not compromise his identity, or lack thereof. With that finished, he maneuvered around the dead moles and began returning to the village.

He walked with such leisure that to anybody unaware, it would seem like he just came back from a nice Sunday stroll.

Even with the fact that he was alone and could confirm that he was with his perception, it still felt as if somebody was watching him. In fact, as he crossed over the hill, he had to pause at its crest due to the feeling being so strong where he stood. He was not one to distrust his own instinct, so he kept the fact that he was most likely being watched in mind as he continued towards the village.

Aborsphinx had wondered why he halted at the top of the hill, right beside him, but it wasn’t too hard for him to guess.

Did he find me out? No, that would be absurd, this place isn’t able to be perceived by any earthly senses, but that couldn’t have been a fluke, Aborsphinx thought, watching The Lich walk down the hill.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Back in town, The Lich glanced around to find this alchemy shop previously mentioned by that woman. After only a few moments, he spotted it. As he approached the shop, he looked down the alley beside it, and as he expected, the four of them were there.

“Did you complete the task already?” Christina asked.

“I told you he was strong,” Derek reminded her.

“I guess so…” She looked The Lich up and down before commenting, “Although your cloak appears pretty beat up, yet you don’t seem to be bleeding so I assume you’re fine. Would you like another cloak to replace that one? It would be no trouble at all.”

“No,” The Lich answered.

All the while the conversation was going on, Arthur posed on the opposite wall of the alleyway with so much confidence that it made The Lich feel sick, even though it wasn’t even possible for him to become ill. Drew had his back against the same wall as Derek and Christina, silently staring up towards the sky.

“By the way,” The Lich began, “What is the name of this village?”

For the longest time, he hadn’t the faintest clue of the name of this village or the one he lived near, for some reason it never crossed his mind. But at the same time, he never wandered until now.

“That’s an odd thing to ask, you really don’t know this village’s name?” Christina chuckled. “Well, it’s Herstel.”

The Lich wanted to keep the name stored in his memory bank, yet he would most likely forget, he never had been good with names, even when he was-

The Lich began to stare lifelessly at the brick wall of the shop next to the alchemy one.

“Uh, you alright?” Derek asked, concerned how he had just gone from interacting with them to not so suddenly.

“Hmm?” The Lich made eye contact with Derek. “Oh yeah, I’m fine, why?”

“Oh um, no reason.”

“Anyway,” Christina interrupted. “Would you like to follow us back to the hideout? We don’t really have a bed or place for you to sleep as, to be honest, we didn’t expect you to come back alive and we only use that as a meeting place.”

“That’s fine,” The Lich said, “I just need a place to rest, not sleep.”

Christina shrugged as she led the group and The Lich back to the hideout.

As Christina led the way, Derek moved right up beside her to whisper in her ear:

“Do you think he’ll be the one?”

“I’m not sure yet, although he did pass the little test we had for him,” She whispered back.

“I really hope we allow him to join us, he will be insanely useful for the next operation.”

“True, however I’m not sure. He doesn’t seem… Quite right in the head if you know what I mean.”

“Well yeah, that’s what makes him so perfect.”