The Lich System

Second Life

Rena and Lia looked up frowning at an ancient tomb. Its entrance decrepit, stone cracked with overgrowth seeping in its nooks and crannies. Whilst old graves lay in ruin in all directions. Once large graveyard reduced to a place where only dead wander and sleep in peace. Often old memories by the dead and scary to the living. Both of them looked with a creeping concern at the stone door and its ancient written language. The carved words made no sense to them, but tracing their eyes over them, sent a shiver down their spines. It felt.. Intrusive to be here.

Rena the swords woman turned away to look at dale, their wizard and scholar of mythic and ancient civilizations. He had knowledge in the field where as many others in the world weren't too keen on delving into ancients and their crimes. Granted he was like that, a wizard who loved books and forbidden arts. Not something many will walk the path of, its dangerous just reading those arts.

Unfortunately wizards or mages really weren't too large in number. Population centers had a few depending on their size, laws and location. Hell some kingdoms didn't even have more than a handful or even any at all. Being one of them, he knew how mystical magic could be, not to mention its chaotic behavior. In short they call him dale. "Dale, can you read this?"

Dale stepped forwards with his staff thumping softly across the over grown covered cobblestones. His robe shuffled lightly as he adjusting his glasses walking past and right up to the door. Glancing upon the text, he wiped away dust and vines to get a better look. The words were carved in black granite in fact it held a sort of ancient arua and there was a large crack down from top left to bottom right. Narrowing his eyes, dale ran his fingers over the engraved text. Whispers hissed in his ears, warning him.

"Hmm, hard to decipher this is a great ancient language. Just give me a second boss. I got this" Whilst Dale deciphered the text. Lia looked around with a keen sharp eye. Scanning the old graveyard with worry. She didn't like graveyards, nor did she like the possibility of undead enemies springing up from their supposed graves. They should stay dead! That's where they belonged, but this world didn't agree.. She shivered at the eerie silence and groaning trees. Just standing here felt.. Wrong.

If it had been night then she would have noped out faster than a cricket on crack. Rena on the other hand wasn't so disturbed, she wanted to fight. Even now she felt her blood boil, she didn't disagree with her friend, but how could the dead be any worse than a bonified rat? However the enemies were either too scared to come play or were asleep. She thought the former idea stuck. Undead were easy to kill. Of course groups were a little harder. Granted she hadn't seen any liches nor heard about them for centuries. The last one they had in Tanenit kingdom was maybe 600 ish years ago give or take. Even so the undead she only knew of is skeletons amd zombies. She had heard of ancient tales speaking of knights turned undead and how they could level cities. Yet she had never encountered one or even so much as seen signs of their existence. That Lich was pretty scary from what she heard though.

But that one disappeared after thoroughly wrecking the kingdom. In fact they were in the very lands this lich disappeared..

Dale's eyes lit up with realization and even a bit of greed. A wizard is a wizard, after all. "Boss! The text.. Its rich.. Hell i think we struck gold! This predates Tanenit! Imagine what we could find, its run down, but untouched!"

Back then that was the most richest kingdom, both in history, magical prowess and military prowess. However after the lich rose to crush them, a war so devastating it brought the country to its knees waged. Slaughtering cities in a matter of days and fortresses in barely 10 days. Once they fell, the lich vanished. The kingdom wasn't fully eradicated, but those left like military powers, bandits and an economic crash brought the kingdom to its grave. This current kingdom is the shadow that rose out of the ashes.

Rena let Dale speak his mind, but just as he was about to ramble into the languages history and the kingdom that came before, she sharply cut him off. "Dale. what does it say for fuck sake." 

Sometimes she had to be mean, if she played noce and asked.. He'd continue. They didnt habe time for that!

Adjusting his glasses a habit of his he turned to them excitedly ignoring the sudden sharp bark that bit him in his passion. "Boss, its hard to read. But as far as i can tell it says..[Ye who dare disturb dead, shall face restless fury and wrathful souls. Enter at your own risk] That said if we ope-"

CRACK*

Before the wizard could finish, he heard an audible sound as if the stone shifted enough to crack open. A deep inhale rushed into the tomb spooking Lia who looked skeptically scared at the cracked stone door. "No, hell no. I'm not going into some crypt to get beat the death by the dead!"

Her reaction was almost shared, but that quickly disappeared with the thoughts of riches. 

Rena frowned ignorant of the faint sense of danger creeping from the tomb. "Relax its a low tiered dungeon. See the lack of undead? this place is practically abandoned aside a few skeletons. Come on Lia it wont be that bad!" She peered at Dale who in turn decided its best to help.

"Yeah, Rena is right, we've fought worse. Whats a skeleton to an untouched pile of gold and magical artifacts."

Lia looked at dale with disdain, before relenting. "Fine, but if there is so much as a small group of bones i'm out."

###

A cold breeze swiftly rushed past many corpses stacked into pockets in the walls. It continued down, deeper and deeper. Damp corridors damaged from long abandon. Old burnt out torches hung low on the wall along the walls long burned out. The shivering breeze howled lowly as if a ghost echoed in this tomb. A warning to all that, the living has breached its walls. 

Yet non stirred to the warning calls, mummified corpses deep in enteral rest and skeletons only clattering from the by passing breeze. Cobwebs shook lightly and loose stones only rained debris. 

Only when it reached the furtherest it could, past two petrified wooden oak doors. Both open barely a crack, just enough.