Deadwood

Written by Livin

Chapter 1: A loud snap from the crackle of the burning logs jar Esther awake, it's light revealing her surroundings as the people that conscripted her come into view around the fire. She stretches and groans as she loosens up her aging joints, complaining once more of her condition. "I'm too old to be doing this kind of stuff."
Nolan, a larger man of his later twenties to her left responds as he sharpens his sword. "You made yourself this way, drowned yourself in drink for too long while letting your body waste away."
The voice of Jon, a scrawny man of near fifty, is heard through the fire from where he sits on the other side. "Let her be, antagonizing her every time she complains won't stop her from doing so."
Nolan asks in an irritated tone, "What good is she to us, she isn't much older than you but is already a crone and does nothing but complain?"
Esther snaps at Nolan "Magic has its price, boy; and in case you've forgotten, a witch isn't someone you should insult so casually."
There is a pause before Nolan bursts out laughing. "Boy? Hah, if I'm a boy in your eyes then you really are old."
Esther quickly stands up in a rage, chanting some words under her breath that causes the fire to rise with her into a pillar that quickly burns up the logs at it's base to ash; and she then pushes the fire into Nolan with a wave of her hand. Nolan rolls backwards onto his feet and throws his bladder of water at it's base, greatly weakening but not eliminating the fire as it sears part of his left arm before becoming extinguished. Nolan moves to strike Esther until he is commanded to stand down by Jon as the fourth member of their team, a lean girl of nineteen called Vica, arrives carrying some freshly caught rabbits and angrily asks, "What happened to the fire?"
Esther chuckles with a smirk as she gestures to Nolan "He put it out"
Nolan snaps back in his defense as he presents the burns on his left arm. "Only after this hag tried to cook me with it."
Vica looks to Jon who nods that they are both right as he begins his work on Nolan's arm. Vica holds the rabbits out to Esther while also pointing at Nolan. "You skin the rabbits and you get more wood as soon as you're mended."
Nolan argues "She'll poison us if you let her handle the food, and I don't take orders from you."
Jon addresses Nolan and Esther "Fine, you can skin the rabbits and Esther will get the fire wood."
Esther complains "You'd make a lady like me do the heavy lifting?"
Jon answers "If you've got the energy to cast spells then you can manage picking up sticks, now go."
The rest of the morning goes by without incident as no one speaks while they dine on the cooked rabbit. Once the food is finished Jon pours a cup of mead from a small barrel and gives it to Esther. She savors every sip as the others look on while Jon returns to his places around the new fire.
Vica asks, "What about us, I know I've earned a cup?"
Jon shakes his head as he answers, "Afraid not, its purely medicinal to help keep her from getting the tremors during the mission today."
Esther exclaims "Finally! I'm tired of all this mystery. So what exactly am I doing in the woods? What was so bad that you had to drag me out here?"
Nolan glares at Esther and she quiets down with another sip of mead.
Jon continues "There is a place in these woods that is said to have come alive. Supposedly the various vegetation moves and behaves like they are animals, attacking those who pass through with many failing to make it out. Rumors and sightings say that this is the work of a giant, specifically an ent."
Nolan turns his head to the left, looking over his shoulder at the grey hilt protruding from beneath his cloak that conceals what is on his back and almost reaches for it but stops short before turning back to Jon "Are we here to kill it? I don't know if that's even possible."
Esther agrees "I'm sure its not impossible, its just impossible for us."
Jon clarifies "For now the mission is just to confirm the rumors. If they are true then we shall attempt to observe and understand why it is there. Once we have that we will return and report."
Esther inquires in an insulting manner "Then what do we need this overgrown lout for if we're just here to observe?"
Nolan answers with an aggressive tone "For protection, and to keep you in line, witch."
Esther laughs off Nolan's attempt to intimidate "I've faced things far more powerful and terrifying than you will ever be."
Jon shouts "ENOUGH! We will need each other if we are to endure what is ahead of us. Vica has scouted the woods, so she will lead the way."


Chapter 2: Vica guides them deeper into the woods over the course of several hours until they reach a point where everything changes. The soil shifts from a healthy brown to a sickly dark grey, dried out and cracked with the smell of rotten eggs in the air. The vegetation that grows from it appears corrupted, familiar but twisted, and gives off an air of hostility as they make their way through. Their focus is soon shifted as they find evidence of a recent rampage with an area where the trees have been ripped apart and other vegetation crushed into the ground. Its not long before they hear the sounds of combat in the distance and rush towards its source to discover a wight fighting the trees.
These trees move slowly through the dirt with their roots acting like tentacles as they bend downward and swing from their trunks in an attempt to knock or crush the wight. The wight uproots them through the combined strength of its six legs and four arms that are arranged in a way that makes it resemble a crustacean, with three heads controlling it. For a moment the party is stunned by what they are seeing until its done with the trees, the wight then spots them and charges in their direction as they move to defend themselves.
Nolan draws his sword as he moves to meet it's charge and swings to take one of the heads; but the blade is grabbed by one of the arms, damaging its hand to the point of uselessness but allowing the other three to grab hold of Nolan without challenge as it picks him up off the ground while tossing the sword several yards behind it. As the wight begins to crush him a bolt of energy from Esther strikes one of the heads, stunning it momentarily. While the wight is stunned Vica suddenly appears behind it, leaping on top of the wight where she drives her dagger into the back of one of the necks. The blow results in the wight losing some control of it's body as it abruptly releases Nolan with two of its arms going limp. The two remaining heads soon regain control but it is not as quick or coordinated as it was before, still managing to shake Vica off it with enough force to hurl her over twenty feet away before crashing into the ground. Nolan begins to reach for the weapon on his back but is told not to by Jon as Vica emerges with his sword, tossing it to him.
Esther weaves her hands about while chanting as she maintains eye contact with the wight, causing moisture to gather around it that freezes and slows the wight down further while Nolan moves to strike it again. Nolan manages to thrust his sword through another head, now crippling the wight as the one that remains is only able to move a few limbs at a time. The wight flails about as it continually tries and fails to stand back up until it shuts down. Jon approaches the wight and attempts to interact with it. It begins to speak as Jon gets closer but once in range the wight attempts to lunge for him, falling short as it lands on the ground with Vica stabbing the last head in the same place as she did the other.
Esther gets closer and discovers that the two heads that Vica dealt with are still alive as Jon once more tries to communicate with it. "Your connection to this body has been severed, you have no choice but to talk to us now. Where does your allegiances lie, with the living or the undead?"
The heads both speak, finishing one another's sentences or clarifying one another's responses. "We fight for the living, we must destroy the undead."
Nolan shouts "Then why did you try to kill us?"
The wight roars at Nolan but answers when Jon repeats the question "You are tainted, will become undead in time."
-"Perhaps that is true, and perhaps that is true for all of the living; but how would killing us prevent us from becoming undead?"
The heads grow silent as it fails to find an answer so Jon asks. "What were the last instructions you were given?"
-"Go get stronger, then kill the undead."
"Why attack the trees?"
-"They are undead, they protect the undead."
Jon gestures Nolan in the direction of a fallen tree that's roots are still moving. As Nolan approaches it Jon recites tomes that causes the sword Nolan wields to glow, first from near the hilt and rising up to the sword's tip. Nolan jams his sword into the tree with a hard, downward stab and the roots begin flailing as the tree bends about with white fire erupting from the puncture site that engulfs the entire thing.
Vica is confused "An undead forest?"
Jon nods "It looks that way."
Esther struggles to accept it "That's impossible."
Jon speculates "Perhaps giants can not only die, but also become undead."
The wight blurts out "Where is the giant undead, we must fight it again?"
Jon looks back to the wight. "Again, you've seen it?"
-"Fought it in the swamp, it killed all the living."
Vica is confused "But it didn't kill you?"
The wight roars at her like it did to Nolan as Jon recites the wight's last order. "Go get stronger, then kill the undead. It was told to flee the fight and return when it could stand a chance."
Nolan asks "How does a wight get stronger?"
Jon looks at the wight's elaborate form and asks "Was your body like this when you first came here?"
-"Needed to get stronger, used what could be found from the dead."
"Were you strong enough to defeat the undead giant before you fought us?"
-"Wasn't strong enough to fight it alone, trying to weaken it first."
"How?"
-"Destroy the trees, the trees protect it."
Jon says nothing as he considers his options before finally looking at one of heads of the wight and asks. "Are we your enemy?"
-"You will become undead, you are an enemy."
"But we aren't undead now, we are of the living that you are here to protect, and we want to help you fight this undead. We can't be enemies if we want to fight the same foe, can we?"
The wight struggles to answer and Jon asks it again. "Are we your enemy?"
-"Not until you are dead, then you will be an enemy."
"That is your understanding?"
-"Yes, we understand."
"We accept your terms."
Jon begins using healing magic to mend the severed connection for one of the heads as Esther erupts at him. "You're helping that thing? It just tried to Kill Us!"
-"We have it's word it won't attack us as long as we live and we'll need it if we are going to deal with the undead ent."
"What are you talking about? The mission is to observe and report, remember?"
-"We know nothing of the giants and have no means of fighting them yet; but for the undead, we have many. Its vulnerable in ways that we can exploit. Imagine what the kingdom could learn from it's corpse."
"So let's go get help to make sure we succeed."
-"In the time it would take to do that something could happen and we would lose this chance. We have to try with what we have."
"You're insane!"
Esther ceases her argument when it becomes clear she is being ignored as Nolan and Vica approach Jon, asking if he needs any help. Jon manages to restore some degree of connection between the wight's body and one of the heads, granting it partial control over parts of itself as the wight begins repairing the rest. Jon asks it "How long before you are fully restored?"
-"Can't be fully restored, other head is too far gone. Will need the day to completely reconnect this head, most of the night to reconnect this head."
"Then this is where we make camp and tomorrow you will lead us to the undead giant."


Chapter 3: Esther starts a fire as Jon looks over Nolan to sort out his injuries while Vica returns from gathering more wood from the destroyed trees. Esther asks her loudly so as to be heard by Jon and Nolan. "Why aren't you being looked at first, you took bigger hits today and clearly did more than the brute?"
Vica dismisses her concerns "I'm fine, really. I heal on my own pretty well."
-"Yeah, there's a lot you seem able to do pretty well. That speed you showed off today, getting around the wight, its something I thought people were incapable of doing even with youth and talent on their side."
Jon and Nolan join them at the fire, with Jon saying as he hands Esther a cup of mead "If everyone was as resilient as her I'd be out of work; but truthfully, are you okay Vica?"
-"I may need a dose tonight if I'm going to be at my best tomorrow. I'm sorry, Jon, I"
"There is nothing to apologize for, its one of the few things I can do to be of use to you."
Jon grabs a cup as he pulls put a knife and a small vial of dark ooze. Jon slices open one of his fingers and drips his blood into the cup. Once a decent amount is in the cup Jon pours three drops of the black ooze and then stirs it with the knife to ensure it all mixes together. Esther begins to gage as she watches Vica down the cup in a single gulp, licking it and the knife clean, becoming hysterical as she questions it. "What did I just see? What the hell did I just SEE!?"
Jon tells Esther "Please calm down, this is a necessary thing. Without it she'd have turned years ago."
-"Turned into What!?"
Vica says with disgust "A vampire"
-"You're infected, and that stuff keeps you from turning?"
Jon expains "Another miracle from the alchemists, suppressing the blood thirst while keeping the body from turning completely if you catch it early enough and ingest it regularly. The result is a stronger and faster human with enhanced healing and heightened senses. It has allowed the victims of the vampires a chance to make them regret it."
Esther looks at Nolan "Are you like that?"
Nolan shakes his head "If I was then I would have faired better today."
Esther mocks Nolan "From what I saw today, I could see you being the first of us to die tomorrow."
Jon warns "Don't take him lightly, he is a chosen."
Esther appears confused before laughing out loud at Nolan. "You, you're worthy of a revenant's claim? If that is true then it was either stupid or blind."
Nolan slams his fist into the ground "It nearly slaughtered my whole garrison when it attacked the outpost, would have killed the other half if not for me. It moved so fast in spite of it's size and separated bodies with each strike."
Esther appears amused but not convinced. "And you managed to impress something like that?"
Nolan undoes his cloak and draws a hefty, black short sword from behind him. Esther's smiles goes away as she senses the power held within the blade and Nolan continues, "Its words were simple. Duel me and you each shall have a chance. Attack me as one and you will all die as one. I watched it go through dozens of my brothers in arms but in that slaughter I spotted a pattern. It used the same exact moves over and over but in a different order. I saw a possible opening and made my move when my turn came. I managed to strike it, draw some of its blood, and it ceased it's attack. It presented me with the sword and said it was now bound to me before leaving, that only I would be able to draw upon its power. When I wield this I become almost as strong and fast as a revenant."
-"Have you ever used it?"
Nolan lowers his head and looks upon his hands as he says with shame "Yes"
Seeing Esther's confusion, Jon explains "The instruments of the undead always come with a cost."
Nolan raises his head and glares at Esther as he states, "Remember this feeling you have right now if the thought of betrayal or desertion ever crosses your mind."
Esther glares back at Nolan and nods, now acknowledging Nolan as a threat. "You're still not the scariest thing I've ever encountered, but since you both showed me yours I guess that means I should show you mine."
Esther opens her shirt, causing Nolan to look away but Esther demands that he look and from the corner of his eye he sees an elaborate ritual circle burned into the center of her chest. Vica is repulsed by it while Jon is intrigued as Esther explains, "This is how my coven has endured the inquisitions that have plagued people of my . . . persuasion."
Nolan asks, "What is that?"
Esther closes her shirt and finishes what is left of the mead in her cup as Jon answers. "Its a seal, making her a vessel."
Vica asks "Vessel for what"
Esther answers "An undead, this is the solution that my coven devised to deal with some of the undead we've encountered. You trap them when they are spirits and bind them to one of the living, turning the body into a temporary prison."
Nolan inquires "What happens when you die?"
Esther chuckles before answering "They are released, hence the temporary part."
Vica wonders aloud "I bet it hurts."
Esther laughs "All the time, but it doesn't just hurt you. It drains you, cuts your life in half. I took this seal eleven years ago, and its aged me by half a century according to you people; but its okay, because doing it saved my daughter from having to take it and I've managed to live through it long enough to meet some of my grandchildren."
Nolan is confused "They found you in a tavern, so far removed from your village that it was almost at the other end of the kingdom."
Esther points out "So far away that the wraith inside me should have no interest in returning to my village when it gets out."
Jon realizes "You don't have long, do you?"
Esther looks to Jon "Another year, assuming I manage to survive this; but either way its better I be out here then another from my coven that has a life to live."
Jon tries to assure Esther "Of course we will survi"
Esther interrupts "Don't lie!"
Esther then turns to Nolan "How many times have you used that sword?"
Nolan answers "Once"
-"Just once"
"It nearly killed me, pushed me to keep fighting even as my body was breaking from the strain."
Jon elaborates "That is the point of being chosen, the sword is an open invitation to joining the ranks of the revenant and using it is how you accept it. It fills you with rage and pushes you to fight until your body gives out, then it brings you back as one of them."
Nolan adds "I didn't know that at the time."
Esther asks "Why don't you just get rid of it?"
Jon answers "The chosen are an important weapon in the defense of the kingdom."
Nolan boasts "A chosen on the battlefield is worth more than a hundred men at their best."
Esther argues "But it kills you."
Jon disputes this "There are ways to break its hold if you get there in time, there are chosen that have managed to endure using it more than half a dozen times."
Nolan tries to joke "I wish you would learn a way that didn't involve firing dipped darts into me."
Esther asks Nolan "I'm curious, what did you use it on."
Nolan pauses briefly before admitting "The rest of the garrison."
Esther is shocked "What!?"
-"They asked me how I figured out how to beat the revenant. The very next question was how long I had known and then why didn't I tell those that died before me once I figured it out. I tried to explain that it was only a thought, something untested that I didn't want others risking their lives over. They didn't see it that way, many of those that died were well liked and many felt like I helped them die with my silence. Eventually a bunch of them came for me, more than I could handle as I am so I used the sword; but once I started I couldn't stop, there was so much rage. It didn't matter if they weren't the ones that had tried to kill me because in my rage they were all guilty. Once they were all dead I went to the nearest settlement and began slaughtering all that I could see until Jon stopped me."
Esther exclaims as she looks to Jon "You stopped him?"
Jon answers "I managed to break him from its hold. My only regret was not getting there sooner."
Nolan adds "And ever since then I haven't left his side, hoping that some day I can use this sword to redeem myself."
Esther asks "I get why they put this team together now, you two raise hell and Jon maintains you while keeping you from going too far."
Nolan boasts "Jon here is one of the greatest weapons against the undead. He once banished a liche when he wasn't much older than Vica."
Esther is surprised "I'm impressed, how did you manage that?"
Jon explains "I wouldn't call it a banishment, more like fending it off until it moved on out of boredom."
Esther doubts it "No need for modesty, considering that magic you used on his sword earlier I bet you put up quite the fight."
-"That wasn't at my disposal back then."
"It's surprising that I haven't heard of that kind of spell being used on the front lines before all this. What is it?"
-"It channels energy from another realm, energy that is in opposition to the energy of whatever realm the undead come from, and momentarily imbues itself into whatever bears the mark of that world."
Nolan draws his sword to reveal the mark that is stamped into the hilt of his blade as Jon adds while massaging a ring around his finger. "The price required for that knowledge was more than any should have to pay. You're one of the few people to see it used outside of the team and I must ask that you not reveal it to anyone else."
Esther says before letting out a loud, drunken laugh "Don't gotta worry about that, I'll be taking it to my grave tomorrow with the rest of you."
Vica and Nolan become depressed as Esther continues to laugh. Jon abruptly gets up and leaves the light of the fire, returning with the small barrel as he says "Grab your cups. If she is right then she won't be needing this anymore."
Esther slowly stops laughing as she watches them drink the barrel dry, holding out her cup for a refill but only getting one more for a toast from Nolan. "Tomorrow we fight, not for greatness or glory but for those we wish to protect. We won't hold anything back, and we will prevail. For the Living!"
Vica shouts with cup held high "For the Living!"
Esther casually holds her glass up slightly "For the living."
Jon stares into the cup for a moment before holding it out to them and speaks with a solemn tone. "For the living."


Chapter 4: Esther awakens with Nolan and Vica at what remains of the fire. They look around for Jon, finding him with the wight that is now back on its six feet and moving about. They approach with their weapons at the ready but Jon tells them to relax as the agreement still holds. Jon asks them if they are ready and they nod with some hesitation over what they are about to encounter. Together they head out, the wight leading the way as it guides them through the destroyed forest and into the swamp.
They march for a couple hours before stopping at a small island that is dense with trees and other plants, in the middle a clearing where the water becomes deep. Jon asks the wight "Its in there?"
-"Its there, its the island."
Esther asks with growing dread "Its the island?"
Nolan draws his sword while carefully approaching the island as Jon begins reciting the tomes and the sword begins to glow. The water around the island begins to ripple as the island moves about at an increasing frequency with each step closer that Nolan takes. Once Nolan is within a few yards of it the island rises up from the water, revealing itself to be the giant. It stands large enough to fill a great hall, a giant mass of dirt held together by an intricate network of thick roots that supports a dense collection of trees on its top half with thick clusters of vines hanging from them to create a skirt around the giant's underbody. The smell of decay permeates out of it as gas pours from it's top in a pattern that resembles breathing.
The giant attacks with narrow vines that bundle together like muscle fibers to create dozens of three fingered hands while thicker vines that are covered in thorns move independently, striking with a whip like crack. A strike from Nolan's glowing sword causes a blaze to ignite only a few bundles of vines at a time as the wight pulls other vines down with one to two of the trees that hold them. Jon continually restores the glow to Nolan's sword by repeating the tome as Esther hurls all manner of fire and lightning at it. In response to Esther's volley of spells the giant uses those hands to pull up chunks of earth and rock to throw it at her, but Vica is quick to help Esther evade them. For a moment they believe they are winning until they witness the giant begin to rapidly regrow the vines and trees.
The noxious gas the giant breaths out ceases while it regenerates. Nolan and the wight press another attack but the giant abruptly releases a large cloud of the noxious gas that envelopes the area, causing Nolan to collapse as he struggles to breath while the wight continues the assault. Neither Jon or Esther can make out where Nolan is in the cloud as they call out, even the glow of the sword isn't visible through it. Vica spots Nolan through the smell of his blood and charges into the cloud to retrieve him, collapsing onto the ground by his side once they are clear of it. Jon rushes to mend them as Esther blindly casts spells of destruction into the fog where the giant was before.
Nolan and Vica begin to regain consciousness as Jon works to heal what he can but is soon interrupted by the wight as it comes flying overhead in Esther's direction and crashing into her with the giant moving towards them. The wight struggles to get back on its feet as Jon quickly leaves Nolan and Vica to get away on their own so he can try to save Esther. Jon finds Esther's body broken on the ground, groaning in agony as the shock wears off and the pain sets in. He begins helping to heal her only to be told just to help her on her feet. Jon argues against this as one of her legs is clearly broken but she insists.
Jon helps Esther off the ground and assists in propping her up on her one good leg. Esther places a hand over the ritual circle on her chest and extends the other one at the giant. The mark begins to resonate with her injuries as barbed chains erupt from the giant's body, coiling around it before shooting into the ground to stop its advance. Esther shouts that they have until she dies or passes out to do something as that is when the spell will end and the giant will be freed. Nolan faces the giant and readies himself.
Nolan struggles to reach back for the black sword as breathing is still somewhat of a challenge; but that struggle goes away once he grips the hilt and dark violet energy begins to pulsate from the sword to his body. Nolan launches onto the top of the giant at incredible speed while it is still chained and strikes it with immense force several times with each passing second, breaking into the giant quicker than it can regenerate as it's body begins to crack open. Unfortunately during his rampage Nolan strikes the chains that are binding the giant and breaking it free. The giant rolls backwards into the pool of water it rose from while Nolan is still on top of it, causing him to fall into it with the giant's body landing on top of him as they both sink into the water.
Esther summons the chains once more to pull the giant out so Nolan might escape as the wight and Vica are finally able to rejoin the fight, charging for its seemingly exposed and undefended bottom half. Jon tries to fix what he can of Esther but she tells him to stop, saying that the pain is the price of this magic. The wight and Vica tear away at the roots of the giant's underbelly with the wight burrowing into the soil beneath it like a tic. The vines soon burst out from the water around the giant and go straight for them, overwhelming and lifting them off it. The vines begin pulling in all directions with Vica screaming out in pain as she and the wight struggle to keep from being ripped apart.
Jon tells Esther to focus the chains on saving them but she says nothing and gets heavier in Jon's arms as she loses consciousness. Esther's hand drops and the chains vanish while Jon places her back on the ground, healing just enough to stabilizer her. Her vision fades in and out as she watches Jon back away from her, his knife appearing in his hand between the blackouts. A sudden shout pulls her back for a moment as she witnesses Jon driving the knife into his chest. She tries to reach out to him but is too weak to move as he falls to his knees and then forward towards the ground.


Chapter 5: Before falling face first into the dirt Jon stops himself by slamming both hands onto the ground. He gets back on his feet as the color drains from his body and blood stains his eyes red before turning them black. Jon takes in his surroundings and grins as he approaches the giant. Vica spots Jon out of the corner of her eye, not recognizing him at first and becoming horrified after she does. Jon speaks into his left hand, creating an orb of energy within it's palm and then projecting it forward in the form of a line as narrow as blade's edge that slices through the vines holding Vica and the wight.
Jon tells them to go join the other one as he gestures towards Esther and Vica says nothing as she moves away from Jon without turning her back to him. The wight charges at Jon but is teleported away by him as it runs into a portal he creates between them. Jon turns his attention to the giant as he openly criticizes it.
"Power over dead that you can't control will always end in the dead controlling you, and this power is far beyond you. I pity you, sealed away by your own arrogance and slowly becoming deranged by the dead's influence. You need not suffer any longer, for you shall soon be laid to rest."
Jon holds out his hand and the giant begins make noise for the first time as it seems to wail in agony. Jon tells it not to fight it, to let him in and show him to its phylactery. Jon announces that he has found it as he balls that hand into a fist and the giant roars as it climbs out of the water. It moves for Jon as he blows onto the tip of the index finger on his right hand, creating a small flame of red and blue that hovers atop the nail. Jon casually flings the flame at the giant with a flick of the wrist and upon impact the giant becomes engulfed in the fire.
The giant rolls backwards into the water again to put out the fire but the blaze is unaffected as it continues to spread and work its way inside. Jon begins pulling in energy from the ashes of the giant as it collapses and burns up completely, channeling it into himself. Nolan climbs out of the pool, no longer alive but a risen revenant. He sees Jon and erupts in a rage at what they have both become. Nolan points at the knife that is still in Jon's chest. "Who did that?"
Revealing a blood stained right hand "It was Jon's own that did the deed."
-"Why?"
"To save you and whatever other reasons that people decide to martyrs themselves over."
-"What are you?"
"I am a liche and a shadow of Deadhaus. Jon and I met a long time ago."
-"Were you with him the whole time?"
Jon holds up his right hand again, this time to show off the ring on his finger. "In a sense, the deal was that I would claim his corpse upon his death and this ring is how we sealed it."
-"Why?"
"Knowledge, young revenant, knowledge about the living and what new tricks they may have for us."
-"Jon would never agree to do that?"
"Oh, the Jon you know now would never; but that young man wanting to save his village and people didn't think twice, especially when I offered him some of my own knowledge. Where do you suppose he got that endowment spell and wanted it to stay a secret?"
-"Is he still here?"
"He is."
-"Let me talk to him. I deserve that much."
"Perhaps you do from him, but I owe you nothing."
Nolan raises his sword and the liche speculates "As I am now in this puppet corpse, with so little on it to help me that I might as well be naked and far from any of my instruments or weapons, you would stand a small but not insignificant chance of victory."
The upright posture of the liche gives way as Jon takes over, becoming panicked as he tries to make out what happened. He quickly notices the knife in his chest and Nolan's new state but before he can speak he hears Vica call out for help as Esther begins to take a turn for the worst. Jon rushes over to her but is stopped short as his legs become fixed in place with the liche whispering to Jon that this wasn't part of the deal. Jon pleads and asks what it would take for it to let him help. A moment passes and Jon is freed to help her, moving to her quickly and working as fast as he can.
Once Esther is healed enough to speak Jon asks her if she'd give anything to survive. She says yes and the liche takes over, saying that it accepts her offer as it places a hand on her head for a moment that causes her to convulse before it is released. The liche then gets to work and completely restores her body. She slowly gets to her feet as she regains her coordination, asking what happened as she describes seeing herself through Jon's eyes. The liche casually explains "You were in this body and I was in yours. I hope you took the opportunity to learn what you could like I did. I must say, as impressive and elaborate as that seal on your chest is it's weaknesses are rather obvious."
-"You were inside me?"
"You said you'd give anything and that was part of my price."
-"Part?"
"Yes, now let us fulfill the rest of our arrangement."
The liche quickly places its hand on Esther's chest with the seal glowing as black energy surges into it. Esther screams in pain as the hand is pulled away, yanking a green and black glowing orb out of her chest. The liche opens a portal and throws the orb into it. Esther demands to know what happened and the liche brags about how it released the wraith from the seal. Esther becomes panicked as she looks around for it but the Liche calms her as it says the wraith is back in Deadhaus.
Nolan shouts at the liche "Bring Jon back, now!"
-"Time is no longer your enemy, child, so you best learn some patience."
Jon resumes control as Nolan approaches him. For a moment fear washes over Jon's face before he resigns himself to whatever Nolan intends to do. Nolan grabs ahold of him and pulls him in for a tight hug with Vica joining.
Nolan says "We didn't hold back today, and in spite of all this we did kind of prevail."
They share a chuckle and Vica asks Jon "What will happen to you?"
-"Its up to the liche, I'm theirs to do with as it pleases. That was the agreement. What will the two of you do?"
Nolan nods to himself "I'm gonna go to Deadhaus, seeing as how I'm probably not welcome amongst the living anymore. Maybe I'll track down the one that gave me this sword."
Vica answers "I'll probably stick with Esther until she is back home, then maybe I'll come join you."
Esther asks "What do you mean by back home?"
Vica points out "The wraith is gone, you don't have to worry about it being freed after you die. You can spend the rest of your life with your family."
Esther begins to tear up at the thought as a smiles grows across her face.
Jon steps away from them as he says he is ready. The liche takes over and wishes them well on their endeavors. Nolan asks what will become of Jon. "His soul will likely be drained of its energy before being cast off into the ether like the rest while I acquire all the information that his brain has to offer."
-"Is there any way to give him a second chance, maybe another way he could be of use to you or Deadhaus?"
The liche ponders for a moment before snapping his fingers.
"There is a theory I've been testing, but I'd need your help to do so here."
They all agree and the liche opens a portal with the wight charging out of it. The liche looks to Nolan "Cripple the body without harming it heads or core."
The wight puts up a hard fight but is quickly brought down by them. The liche approaches the wight as it screams and places a hand into its core. The screaming stops and the heads of the wight close their eyes momentarily. When they reopen their eyes it is like they are doing so for the first time as they survey their surroundings in confusion. The liche asks the wight "What is your name?"
-"I don't know?"
"Do you recognize anything you see?"
The heads look around before shaking and the liche appears disappointed as Esther asks "What did you do?"
-"I cleansed the wight's core to reset its memory and added Jon's to it. I had hoped something might shine through but alas, its just like all the other attempts to awaken the soul."
Esther asks "Awaken the soul?"
"Do you know what happens when a wight awakens? Most of the living goes through life only seeing through the physical with their eyes and other sensory organs while their souls remain blind, managing only to develop a most basic understanding. Its the reason I'm more interested in Jon's body rather than his soul, since he only saw through the physical all that he knows is in his brain that I am preserving in spite of what my appearance might suggest. With the wights you took a bunch of souls and stripped them of what little they did have in the way of understanding as you broke them down into their most basic compounds, their essence, and put them all together to create a power source for an abomination that has just enough reanimated brain cells to follow orders. Over time those threads of essence in their cores will spool themselves together into a complete soul and the awakening happens the moment a wight no longer perceives things through their physical senses but through their souls. However, as said before, there is no understanding or comprehension in a newly awakened wight's soul and that often results in most failing to thrive not long after they awaken. What I did was add a complete soul to the pool of essence, hoping that it would trigger an awakening while also provide some measure of understanding in order to better equip the newly awakened wight for survival. I just needed Jon's soul to manifest in some way to prove the theory, but unfortunately it did not."
Nolan asks "So Jon is in there?"
-"His soul and nothing else, no memories or personality. It does not seem to have awakened and will just do as it is told like any other empty headed wight."
The liche begins to walk away but Esther stops it as she ask the wight a question. "What do you want to do?"
The wight gestures towards Nolan "To go with him, where he goes."
The liche is intrigued "Do you know him?"
-"No, I do not."
"Do you know where he is going?"
-"No, I do not."
"Then why?"
The wight goes silent as it struggles to answer until the liche asks a different question "What do you feel when you look at him?"
-"Safe, protected."
The liche chuckles "Extraordinary"
The liche begins to repair the damaged wight while talking to Nolan "This is quite the breakthrough. I'll need to successfully replicate and eventually perfect the process back at Deadhaus, but until then I'll need it to return with me so I have something to reference. Once I've completely proven my theory it'll be free to join the other wights or whatever else it wants to do."
The liche looks at Nolan "I'm assuming that you'll want to travel with me?"
Nolan nods as he looks back at Esther and Vica, bidding them a final farewell. The liche finishes fixing the wight, not telling but asking it if it would like to accompany them and getting excited again after the wight says yes. Together Nolan the freshly raised revenant and Jon the newly awakened wight follow the liche towards the clearing as it looks at a card with the image of a contorted tree on it. Nolan inquires about it and the liche reveals, -"It's the power I claimed off that liche, the power of the deadwood. Its quite impressive, actually, will probably take me a century to master but its better than ending up like that hack that tried to cut corners."
A portal to Deadhaus opens in front of them and they proceed through it as Nolan realizes "That was a liche?"
-"Of course, what did you think it was?"
The portal closes, leaving Esther and Vica behind as they begin their journey home.

Conflict Type

Showdown