Gripping Jackson’s axe with both hands, the dwarf tested its weight before shifting it to his right hand and swinging it around a few times. After a few practice swings, he took it in both hands yet again and said. “It’s no hammer, but I suppose it will do… My name’s Dyyajolies, by the way. Just thought you ought to know, seeing as we are about to face off with something that might just spell the end for me.”
“Don’t you mean us?” asked Fellaroth, noting that his mortality was clearly left out of Dyyajolies’ statement.
“They don’t know what you are, do they?”
“What do you mean? Who doesn’t know what?”
“I mean, it does make sense. Humans don’t live as long as we dwarves do, so ancient teachings and traditions would fall from living memory quite quickly. I always knew that they had given up on the ‘Old Gods,’ I just never knew that they had completely forgotten them.”
“You know who I am, then?”
“You would be hard pressed to find a member of the older races who wouldn’t be able to recognise a member of the pantheon, even if it were a God of a different race. I mean, it was made easier with the knowledge that our own Gods had returned to us.”
“So Thorgar and Fjella returned to Silver Peak City, and you decided that that would be the opportune time for you to venture out into the human lands to trade your wares?”
“I’m no real loss to our people. Nothing more than a simple tradesman, one of many. Besides, from what I heard before I left, The Lady of The Forge hasn’t left The Dragon Forge since her return, while Lord Thorgar has spent his days “correcting” our shortcomings. Don’t get me wrong, he has done amazing things since his return, rooted out the worst parts of our society, brought to light things that were being hidden from the masses, and made things better for the common man in every possible way. But one can’t help but wonder why. Why is it now that the Gods have returned to the mortal realm, and why are they working so hard to “fix” things that they have seen fit to overlook for millennia while they were in the divine realm?”
“There is an answer to that question, Dyyajolies, but it would take longer to explain than we have time down here. I mean, I’d much rather find out what this thing is and why it was doing what it was, wouldn’t you?” said Fellaroth, stepping forward and inspecting the monolith more closely.
“You’re right about that, but I would like for you to share that answer with me someday.” Asked Dyyajolies, joining Fellaroth in his inspection of the monolith.
Standing on either side of the human-sized obelisk, Fellaroth and Dyyajolies searched its flat surfaces for any kind of legible markings or depictions that might hint at the origins or purpose of the strange object that lay before them. The tall, thin object was completely black in colour, had a two-step base, and four perfectly flat sides that created its square shape, as it rose to a height just taller than the average man, at which point it was topped by a perfect pyramid. Each of the object's four sides was wide enough that, standing on either side, Fellaroth and Dyyajolies couldn’t see each other on the opposite side. Before them stood a truly bizarre object, whose purpose would never have been able to be brought to light had it not been for the ritual they had witnessed in that place.
“You said that this thing was the creature that was responsible for the atrocities that took place here, didn’t you?” asked Fellaroth.
“I did.” Answered Dyyajolies.
“And you wouldn’t happen to know how to coax it out of its current form?”
“No, I honestly never gave it much thought; my only concern up until now was staying alive. Getting that thing to show itself and potentially do more harm to me was not something that I wanted.”
“Very well, then, I suppose we are just going to have to force whatever it is to show itself.” Said Fellaroth, extending his spear over his shoulder and striking the obelisk with enough force to break it in two, while scattering its pieces across the dusty, blood-stained floor. A moment of intense silence followed as Dyyajolies and Fellaroth held their breath in anticipation of what might manifest from the broken obelisk. As the seconds passed, Fellaroth and Dyyajolies stared at the two pieces, slightly disappointed to see that nothing had happened.
Turning his attention from the pieces, Fellaroth asked Dyyajolies, “And you’re sure that the creature you mentioned earlier came from this obelisk?”
Before Dyyajolies was able to answer, he noticed that the smaller of the two pieces had started to vibrate. Mere moments passed before he and Fellaroth noticed that the second piece had also started to vibrate. Before long, the two pieces began to lift into the air, while their shape started to visibly alter into little more than blobs of unidentifiable black material. Watching on in astonishment, Fellaroth and Dyyajolies were perplexed to see that the two pieces had merged back into one and had begun moulding themselves into the rough shape of a person.
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“Why would you disturb my slumber? I was having the most delightful dreams…” came a voice that seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. “Are you the same people who disrupted my sublime ritual? How could you so nonchalantly disrespect the supreme being in such a manner?”
Fellaroth and Dyyajolies watched on as the pulsating mass slowly started stretching out with fingers and hands taking shape, before a head and shoulders stretched into existence. With the form of a skeleton having taken shape, an inky flesh began to slowly ooze from its core, while a strange roll of tattered material appeared in midair and began to unravel, slowly covering the entire body in an aged red and blue robe that hung so low that it covered the being’s feet. Once the body and robe had taken shape, a metallic chest plate began to materialise by forcing its way through the body of the being. The golden, blood-stained platemail wrapped itself around the torso of the being, before two large, thin spikes jetted from each of its shoulderplates to a height of nearly double that of the being’s head. As the shoulder spikes rose from their base to the height of the head, a full-faced helmet wrapped itself around the creature's head, while a simple circlet crown formed around the helmet and from the point at the centre of the being’s forehead, a spike started to stretch up at the same rate as the shoulder spikes, until all five had reached the same height.
With the creature’s body having fully materialised into this world, a pale yellow flame lit behind the face guard, obscuring any view of the face that might lie behind. While the flame caught a light, a magic circle appeared to the being’s right, from which emerged five books that opened and began to float in a circle around the creature’s head.
“Mortal beings can be so inconsiderate!” continued the mysterious yet posh voice that now clearly emanated from behind the helmet. “Though it appears that only one of you is mortal, while the other… the other is a God! Oh, good heavens. I find myself in the presence of a God! Whatever should I do? Do I bow? Do I prostrate myself…?” the strange creature rambled on with such exaggerated enthusiasm that neither Dyyajolies nor Fellaroth knew if they wanted to allow him to continue or if they should launch their attack in an effort to end their own suffering.
After a few moments’ contemplation, and upon seeing Dyyajolies' knuckles whitening as he gripped the axe more tightly, Fellaroth cut in. “You’re a Lich, aren’t you? A rather powerful one, I might add, easily one of the more powerful I have ever seen!”
“Oh, please, I am easily the most powerful lich to have ever existed. That is a fact that isn’t even up for debate!” answered the strange creature.
“Hardly! I mean, you would definitely make the top ten, or rather, top twenty that I had the misfortune of coming across while I was still alive!”
“Top Twenty? You wound me, Sir! How could a being such as myself have lived so long as to be insulted in such a grievous manner!”
“But, you’re a lich? Doesn’t that mean that you’re already dead, and have been for some time?” interjected Dyyajolies. “I mean, unless I am missing something here?”
“Does existence not constitute a life? Barked the lich in outrage. “I mean, I may not have a heartbeat, or liquid blood being pumped through my veins… if I even still have veins?” he added, pulling back the sleeve on his left arm and examining the loose skin that scarcely covered his bones. “Either way! I exist, and I think, and I feel… emotionally… does that not mean that on some level I am alive?”
“Of course it does…” answered Fellaroth enthusiastically. “One life in this world is as good as another. You have a consciousness and a desire to continue your existence, which means that you are alive!”
“Ah, I see that you are a God much like the one that I serve. You value life in all its forms, not just the ones that “live and breathe.” You are an intelligent God… but wait, if you’re an intelligent God, then why would you have stopped by ritual? Why would you have gotten in the way of another God?” asked the Lich, as it’s body floated closer to Fellaroth and tilted forward to bring their faces closer together.
“Well, you see, I don’t know what ritual you were performing. Perhaps you could enlighten me, then if I feel it is worthwhile, I might even lend my aid and help you pick up where you left off.”
“But you let all of my sacrifices go! Do you know how long it took me to gather enough power to bring them all here and set up the perfect environment?”
“You forget that I am a God. Gathering power is a trifling matter for one such as I.”
“This is true. But surely one so powerful as yourself can discern a transfer circle when you see one? Do I really need to explain such a thing to you?”
“A transfer circle, you say? I’ve never seen one this large before. You’ve truly outdone yourself!”
“Why, thank you. You're too kind!” said the lich, sounding as though he were blushing, if only he could.
“But do explain where you would need to transfer so much life essence? And for what purpose?” asked Fellaroth.
“I would think that such a thing would be quite obvious. I’m using that transfer crystal above our heads to send the life essence of all of these mortals into The Other World, so that My Lord might gather enough power to cross the boundaries of the two worlds and enter this one!” answered the lich in the most animated fashion he could manage.
“To cross into this world from The Other, you say? That is truly bizarre. Had they truly been a God, then crossing the various planes of existence should be an easy matter. I mean, do I, a God, not stand before you as we speak? I had no trouble crossing into this world from our own!” Fellaroth’s word left the lich stunned as he contemplated the meaning of what he had just heard, floating in midair without uttering so much as a single syllable.
