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the Lich in Wait

Started by nemotunovi, November 28, 2017, 04:56:31 PM

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nemotunovi

"Th- thank you Ishmael..." Rhett panted through hurried and frantic breaths. The boy clutched his shovel close as he backed from the corpse. When it became clear that the man was dead, Ishmael loosened his jaw, letting the body slide off his fangs and onto the ground. The unknown transgressor had snuck up on Rhett clutching a sacrificial dagger awry with all sorts of profane magic. Dried specks of blood lingered in the blade's edges and folds. This knife had tasted blood before. Had Ishmael not been watching, it would have done so again.

Ishmael stood vigilant over the corpse, ready to strike "He's not emerging, Rhett", the bone serpent growled. "Give it time, Ishmael." Rhett mumbled as he shuffled in his seat, "We need to make sure he doesn't linger. These types always make trouble if they do" The bone serpent huffed, patience running thin. Rhett kept his distance from the corpse. Rhett normally had no qualms with handling the dead. Burial rites have been a part of his life as long as he could remember. But there was something different about this case. Something evil. Something wrong.

Normally on death, Rhett can see the spirit depart from the body. The ghost would leak from their corpse and either fade or linger. The emergence was normally instantaneous, with the spirit appearing the second the heart stopped.  In rare cases, it would take a few minutes as the soul tried futilely and desperately to cling onto life. At least once, he saw an incredibly driven connloathian warrior take a full eight and a half minutes to let go of his life. But it's coming up on ten minutes and the body still lies dormant, spirit nowhere to be seen.

Flashgordon512

Somewhere in Infernus

Vanallah sighed, taking another bite out of her apple as she watched two imps fight each other while a crowd of other demons watched. Being a Succubus could be boring although things were always more interesting in the demon realm than they ever were on the surface. Just a bunch of insolent kings fighting each other over perceived ownership of land, not like it mattered in the end all mortals died and are judged either way.

She was just about to take another bite when she felt the life force of her current 'master' fade from the corporeal realm and she was instantly taken over by rage. "That old fool must've tried to kidnap another merchant and got ran through by his guards," She said to herself, standing up to stretch before summoning a portal to where the poor sod died.


Back on Serendipity, the ground next to the man's body lit up with a dark red glowing pentagram that seemingly bleed from the earth as a dark purple and black portal flashed into existence. Vanalla's demonic form materialized on the Earth, causing the portal and the pentagram to fade, leaving a burnt outline where it once was in the ground. Immediately she saw the slightly shaken necromancer and his bone serpent standing over the corpse of the man she was bound to. Was being the key word.

Vanallah let out a long sigh with both of her hands on her waspish hips, shaking her head at the descended warlock before turning to the necromancer. "Let me guess? He tried to kill you didn't he?"

nemotunovi

Ishmael coiled and hissed at the new apparition before him. "Ishmael, behave yourself!" Rhett barked at the spirit. Soft distorted cracks spat from the bone serpent as he relaxed his position. "Sorry about my friend, ma'am," Rhett mumbled as he helped himself up, "we've had a bit of an incident tonight..."

Slowly, Rhett approached. The boy circled the cadaver, keeping it six foot's length at all times. He dragged his shovel along the floor as he paced. The sound and feel of the metal tip bumping through the dirt put his nerves at ease somewhat. He was still deathly afraid of the corpse, but now that he had at least one other person present he felt safer closing in on it. He examined the body the best he could by the light of the moon. It was lying face-down in a pool of blood, leaking gore from a frostbitten wound right through the torso. The spirit, still nowhere to be seen.

Ishmael probably bit his heart..., Rhett thought to himself,  given the location of the wound and amount of blood... Ishmael's efficient like that...

Rhett perked up as he finished his cursory examination, giving the woman before him his full attention, "Miss, did you know this man?"

Flashgordon512

"Yes I did, his name was Melzair. Poor fool summoned me seeking a way to enhance his power, in return for his soul when he died I gave him the ability to increase his power by sacrificing humans. Thanks to your... friend.. he never got to try out his new found ability." She said with an audible sigh as her spade like tail flicked back in forth out of irritation. "It seems though that our friend is trying to welch on the deal he made with me, I still sense traces of his soul here on earth but he never passed on or I wouldn't be here right now."

Vanallah walked over and knelt down next the the corpse, flipping him over with a slight groan in order to further examine his corpse. "He probably tried to bind his soul to a phylactery, wouldn't be the first time someone attempted to become a lich in order to get out of a contract. However it usually just leaves them as a mindless zombie instead."

She stood up and finally took a moment to examine Melzar's would be victim. Sure he looked like he was just a kid who was probably lacking a good nights rest and a hot meal but Vanallah could sense that he could handle himself. "Say... You're a necromancer right?" She asked. Maybe she had some use for him after all.

nemotunovi

"I suppose I am..." Rhett said as he shuffled around a bit, "While 'necromancer' is technically accurate, I can't say I approve of that label. A necromancer is someone who controls the dead, subjugates them, hurts them. It's a title for scoundrels and tyrants, not worthy of the power they wield."

"Mikael called me something earlier that I liked better... psychopath i think it was?" a faint breeze and whispers spun through the air at the end of that sentence. "Psychopomp? isn't that the same word, though?" more whispers erupted around him in response. Rhett turned his face away, red in his cheeks, "oh well, it doesn't matter... she got my point..."

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