All attention was on the large bed. The yawn came again, this time with an eery popping noise. The companions spread out into the room with their eyes on the bed. There was a sigh and another yawn. Whatever it was, it was waking up.

The thing in the bed raised up. It was a tall man. His skin was pale and gaunt; he would have passed as a skeleton in the dark. His eyes had no pupils and glowed amaranth. He twisted his neck from one side to the other, causing a sickening creaking throughout the large bedroom. He blinked a few times.

“Well, what year is it?” He said with a hollow voice.

The companions looked at each other and then at Britina. She shrugged and said, “It’s the fourth age of Elanor, year two thirty-one.”

“What’s that?” The man asked, still stretching and causing the room to echo with creaks.

“What’s what?” Britina asked.

“Elanor?” The man asked, shaking his body.

“Elanor, the warrior queen who defeated the wizard George Armar and brought peace to the realms,” Brianna interjected.

“Wizard George Armar?” The man said, “Never heard of him.”

“What year do you last remember?” Brianna asked, stepping forward into the room. She was excited to speak to someone who lived before the current age (not many of those still around).

“It was the Moon Solstice," the man said, his glowing eyes never blinking.

"That doesn't really tell us much," Britina said. "Do you remember any large event, an earthquake, volcano, something?"

"Um, let me see, uh, we had the great rocks fall from the sky, bringing the vermin. That was, I don’t know, a hundred years before I slept.” The man said.

“Wow, you mean the cataclysm that brought the humans? That would be before the great ages?” Brianna had dropped her weapon to her side and was excited. “I’m Brianna, necro-archeologist. I would love to interview you.”

“Necro, what? Nevermind. Sure, I’ll let you interview me.” The man swung his bony feet over the edge of the bed and strained his back, causing more of the sickening creaking.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“Hold up, how can we understand him?” Randle asked. “I mean, he’s old, like really old.”

“Magic,” Prunhiline sighed, rolling her eyes.

“No, dear love. There isn’t any magic causing this.” Britina said, now more worried.

“Oi, I can answer that.” The man said, “I absorb language from sacrifices. When they die, they don’t give me much else, but picking up the era’s language is quite useful.”

“But the sacrifices are too old to know our language,” Brianna said.

“Not the new ones.” The man said as he rose to his full seven-foot height.

The companions looked at each other. This interview wasn’t going well.

“We didn't find any new ones. All the ones we found were ancient,” Brianna said.

“Did you look inside the temple?” The man said, now doing side bends.

“What?” Brianna was surprised. "There is no way into the temple."

"The door is at the top. Why do you think we built the big staircase?" The man said, still stretching.

"Oh," Brianna whispered.

“The oldest go out every few decades and collect newer corpses, storing them until I need them.” The man switched to standing hamstring stretches.

“Need them for what?” Britina asked, dreading the answer.

“For my army,” the man said, beginning to do jumping jacks with unsettling enthusiasm.

“Your army? Who are you?” Brianna asked, also dreading the answer.

The man stopped, gave them a big smile, and said, “I’m the Lich Lord, Lawrence.” He stood proud with his hands on his hips.

“Who?” Prunhiline asked. This deflated the Lich Lord's ego.

"What? Doesn't anyone remember me?" The Lich Lord asked, discouraged, "I'm the one who stared the old ones down and defeated the elder god Olled to gain immortality. I am the original necromancer!" He swung his arms wide and proud.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I've never heard of you," Britina said. Brianna nodded in agreement.

Lich Lord Lawrence shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. All will know my name. Once I raise my undead army and conquer the world.” The lich lord pointed up with his finger for dramatic effect, “This will be the age of Lawrence.”

The companions were shocked. The first to break was Prunhiline, as a giggle started to form. Britina and Randle couldn’t keep their composure as they, too, began to snicker. Darren and Brianna looked at each other and then began to laugh. This caused a ripple of laughter to roar up from the companions.

“Age of Lawrence!” Prunhiline howled with laughter.

“Stop laughing!” Lawrence bellowed, his voice cracking slightly.

“By the gods, I really thought we were in trouble,” Randle said between his deep laughs.

Britina was the first to find her composure, “Excuse me, Lich Lord Lawrence, but did you think about changing your name?” This caused the companions to lose their composure once more.

“Like maybe Buddy,” Prunhiline said with tears in her eyes. She said in a fake deep voice, “I’m Lich Lord Buddy, and this is the age of Buddy!” The companions howled with laughter.

The Lich Lord stopped his bony foot and shouted, “Stop laughing at me!” He raised his hands and said something that few in the world could understand. A grating noise echoed throughout the entire temple. This brought the companions out of their reverie and back to being serious.

“What’s going on?” Prunhiline asked.

“I’m releasing my army!” Lawrence shouted.

Brianna gasped in horror, “This is bad! I can feel so many undead being raised.”

“My preservation spells have kept them mostly intact. I have several thousands of undead at my command!” The Lich Lord shouted.

“Time to go!” Randle shouted.