Our journey proceeded smoothly. We donned the armor of the fallen goblins and followed their patrol unnoticed—no surprise, really, since choosing goblins as patrol guards was a grave mistake. These creatures were meant to be fodder for the dark army, sent to die en masse without a second thought. The only issue we encountered was the stench clinging to the armor, which made me nauseous despite having eaten nothing for nearly a day—though there was nothing left to vomit.
“Mr. Ryder!” Brian timidly inquired, “How can we wear this armor? Isn’t it forbidden for mages? The God of Magic decreed that wizards cannot wear armor, or we’ll lose our magic! What if we encounter enemies…what will we do then?”
“Nonsense…we won’t be discovered. Besides, we have these goblins as our shields; there’ll be time to remove the armor if necessary…right?” I replied nonchalantly, justifying our actions with a convenient excuse.
The goblin captain ahead of us stopped and signaled to me. I knew we had reached our target—the lair of the necromancer Raith.
It was a vast cavern, the kind that was both wide and deep, with numerous branching tunnels. Though it was a cave, the area was undoubtedly expansive, making the search for the girl far from an easy task.
Two ogre guards stood at the entrance, clad in chainmail and wielding massive battle axes.
“You’re back…anything unusual to report?” one guard blocked the goblin captain.
“Why bother asking them? These idiots know nothing. They just wander around and return! It’d be more satisfying to smash their heads!” the other laughed loudly, brandishing his axe menacingly.
“You’re the idiot—cracking their skulls would make this place unbearable with the stench. These filthy goblins are nothing but trouble! Get out of here! If you’ve no new information, don’t approach the master’s quarters. Go back to your holes! If you stay any longer, I’ll throw you all off the cliff!”
The goblins fled in fear, and we had no choice but to follow, with the ogres’ disdainful laughter echoing behind us.
“What do we do now, Mr. Ryder?” Brian asked once we were free of the goblin entourage. “Are we unable to get in?”
“We can’t just give up!” I responded. I had made a promise, and I intended to keep it. It’s a matter of principle. Besides, we’re only dealing with two ogres, not the necromancer himself—nothing to fear, just a minor inconvenience.
How should we proceed? Killing the ogres would be simple, but that could attract a swarm of enemies. Who knows what else lurks in the cave—there might be a whole clan of ogre shamans inside!
If we don’t kill the ogres, we’d have to wait for them to leave, but they’re smarter than goblins and unlikely to abandon their posts simultaneously. It seems the only way in is to use invisibility.
But I only memorized one invisibility spell! If I go in, what about Brian?
“Mr. Ryder, what should we do?” Brian asked.
“I plan to use invisibility to get inside…” I turned to face the boy. Although I didn’t say it, Brian had already guessed the reason for my hesitation from my expression.
“Only one invisibility spell…” he murmured, but quickly regained his composure. “It’s fine, don’t worry about me! There are plenty of large rocks here, and the terrain is complex—I can easily hide!”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Can he? I could hear the uncertainty in his voice. A boy who can’t even cast a magic missile, left alone in a place wholly dominated by evil—it’s a lie to say he’s not scared. He just doesn’t want to be a burden on me—such an innocent child!
“Take this!” I pulled out a dagger from my coat and handed it to the boy. It was an artifact, already imbued with my own wards, making it impossible to detect with magic. “Only use it as a last resort.”
(Supreme Bloodsucking Dagger: Artifact, undetectable, +5 to hit, damage 2d6+5, +3 to armor class, randomly generates 2d6 fire, poison, or ice damage, 50% chance to cast Fireball (level 3), 30% chance to cast Vampiric Touch, 10% chance to paralyze the enemy for 10 turns… Audience: Does this even exist?)
The boy took the dagger. I doubted he’d ever used such a weapon, but it didn’t matter. As long as he held this artifact, I believed that ordinary enemies wouldn’t be able to harm him.
I watched him find a concealed spot to hide, then focused my mind on the spell. I trusted the dagger to protect him—an artifact is formidable in anyone’s hands. But, to be honest, I never imagined Raith would use this artifact as a conduit between worlds. This dagger is a legendary treasure among mages! I recall my teacher lamenting about this artifact as one of the regrets of his long life…
…Teacher… A pang of sorrow struck my heart as the image of the old mage’s kind but mischievous smile, framed by his white beard, flashed before my eyes… No, that’s all in the past. It’s all over, like the wind passing over the land, leaving nothing behind… I did nothing wrong… No, I mustn’t dwell on the past. It’s the present that matters—I’m living the life I once dreamed of! I pushed away the intrusive memories, almost losing focus on my spell.
My body quickly melded with the surroundings, and I confidently walked past the ogres into the cave.
Inside, the cave was surprisingly well-lit, the light making it easy to navigate. But something was off—the layout of the cave was too symmetrical, too uniform, suggesting it was man-made rather than natural. The initial passage led to evenly spaced rooms on either side, with some glowing stones—possibly gems—embedded in the ceiling to provide illumination.
The first few rooms were large, filled with beds, clearly meant for the necromancer’s personal guards. But now they were empty—Raith must have sent all his elite forces out to search for us. He surely didn’t expect me to escape his death trap and take his precious artifact! But if he cared so much about this artifact, why use it as a conduit? If he kept it on him, no one could have taken it!
A door creaked open, interrupting my thoughts… A tall figure emerged from within.
An ogre shaman! My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly pressed myself against the wall to avoid being seen. If he sensed something amiss and cast a detection spell, I’d be swarmed by enemies from all those rooms! I could still escape, but Brian would be in danger—unable to capture me, they’d surely scour the area…
The ogre shaman carried a large cask of wine—at least, it would be a cask in his hands, though to me, it would be more like a jug—as he walked deeper into the cave, grumbling to himself.
“So boring, why did the master give such an order! To have me watch over a human girl… Everyone else gets to be outside, but I’m stuck here… Boring!”
“A girl!” I immediately realized he was talking about the girl. What luck, I’d found myself a free guide!
Having this guide was a stroke of fortune—I no longer had to search each room one by one. I just needed to carefully follow him. As I shadowed him, I observed that most of the rooms were empty, with few guards around. It seemed the cave’s defenses were thin, likely because Raith never expected anyone to dare storm his lair directly!
The shaman opened the last door, and when I saw the carpet laid out beyond, I knew this had to be the necromancer’s private quarters. Raith had imprisoned the girl in his own living space—truly a despicable pedophile!
I slipped inside silently. The room was lavishly decorated—no small feat in this mountainous hideout, proving Raith’s power was formidable.
The room was divided by drapes, and from behind them, I could hear the sound of sobbing. But the ogre shaman paid no heed, focusing only on drinking his wine. I couldn’t move the drapes in front of him, so I stood there, waiting for him to leave.
Suddenly, I realized a problem—after rescuing the girl, how would I get her out? I only have one invisibility spell! How infuriating! Would I have to fight our way out like in the books, cutting a bloody path through the enemy after rescuing the princess? This girl wasn’t worth such a risk! My tastes certainly didn’t align with that pervert Raith’s!