After eight hours of good rest, the party and the army moved back to Sendai's lair, shrouded in invisibility to avoid having to face unnecessary confrontations right off the bat. The corridor they had taken led them to a large cave that was nearly completely occupied by a huge building decorated with skulls and bones. "Five golds say there's a necromancer in there", Daniel piped up, grinning. Yoshimo arched an eyebrow, "Oh? Well, I bet five golds that it's a Lich instead", he replied.
"Pfeh, you're both buffleheads!", Imoen rolled her eyes, "I bet that it's some kind of weird Underdark monster that we've never seen before, like those ugly cow-spiders in the corridor". "Don't remind me, those things were really mooooooonstrous", Aerie joked, imitating a cow's moo and everyone chuckled. "Let's get in and see who's right", Meg said, "Yoshimo, Immy, you go first and check for traps". "Aye aye, captain!", the pink-haired thief playfully saluted her.
They silently opened the door and slipped inside, only to find a huge staircase and at the bottom of it, there was a large room with a ritual circle of runes drawn in blood right in the middle of the floor. In the middle of it stood a Lich: it was tall, probably as tall as Minsc, the parchment-like skin was stretched on his bones, a few tufts of faded black hair still clung to the head in random patches, his eyes were milky and covered with a thick layer of cataract and all of it contrasted starkly with his luxurious dark green silk robes decorated with golden and silver thread and with small gems.
Yoshimo kept silent as he checked the stairs for traps, not wanting to alert the enemy of their presence just yet, but he couldn't wait to collect his winnings and preen about his victory. When the coast was clear, he signaled to the others and Meg stepped forward, gesturing for the thieves to leave as she descended the staircase and stopped at the bottom of it. She took a deep breath and cast a spell of protection against evil on herself, which dissolved the invisibility hiding her, "I come in peace", was the first thing she said, "My name is Margaret Dawn. May I know yours?".
The Lich fixed his milky eyes on her and squinted, "I'm Odamaron, little girl", he answered in a raspy voice, "You're the Godchild that mistress Sendai told me of, eh? The one I was ordered to kill". "You are a powerful Lich, lord Odamaron", she said in a humble tone, "Why do you do the bidding of some inferior mortal? Surely you do not need Sendai's protection, nor her riches: with your magic, you would not doubt be able to take whatever you desire from her without trouble".
He chuckled, a faint and hissing sound that made her skin crawl, "Oh, you're a sly one, little girl! And you are right, I could easily kill that worthless Drow girl and take everything she has, but unfortunately, she has my phylactery. And do you see these runes on the floor?", he added, pointing down, "They force me to stay in this building, a prisoner to that disgustingly arrogant mortal! If I let you move forward, she will destroy my phylactery and I will be gone forever. So you see, I have to fight you".
"How will she know whether we moved forward because you died, or because you let us go?". "If you kill me, my spirit will go back to the phylactery and she will know for sure I fought and lost. But if it doesn't and you show up in front of her…", he shrugged, "She will know I betrayed her and what is there to stop her from destroying me?". "We will stop her", the Ilmatari promised, but he shook his head. "I can't risk it, little girl. Although…I sense that you are very powerful. And of course, you did not come alone, now did you? I sense others outside this building, others who share the same power you have, other godchildren". "Yes, there are more of us. Not to mention a whole army".
"Uhm…You have arrived to my prison, defeating the obstacles she put in your path. And you have allies with you…", he massaged his chin, or what was left of it, "What about a deal, little girl?". "I'm all ears, if it can avoid us an unnecessary fight and spare the lives of my allies". "Good", Odamaron grinned and rubbed his skeletal hands, "I will allow you to kill me, so my soul will go back to the phylactery and you will be able to move on without raising suspicions. In exchange for this favor, you must erase the runes that bind me to this building".
"So, once Sendai is dead, you will be free to get out of the phylactery and go wherever you please instead of being dragged back here by the curse", she guessed and he nodded. "Correct". "I don't think it's a good idea, child", Jaheira commented, coming down the stairs and crossing her arms on her chest, "How do we know this Lich won't kill some innocent once he's free to leave?".
Odamaron rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Oh, come on, young one! I am a Lich, yes, but I am not interested in killing or terrorizing random people! All I want is to go back to my studies about the Multiverse and find the secret to interplanar travel from one universe to the other. Why do you think I became a Lich in the first place? I needed time!", he exclaimed, throwing his hands up, "Do you have any idea how complex of a subject this is? I would have never been able to even scratch the surface during a single human lifetime, let alone find the answers to my questions!". "Well, I see, but…".
"I am getting close, so close, I only need another millennia or two and I will finally be able to leave this universe and visit other places in the multiverse. Just imagine how many beautiful places I could see", he let out a dreamy sigh, gaze lost in the distance, "I could learn so much from other cultures, their music, their literature, their operas…So much knowledge to gain!", he clapped his hands like an enthusiastic child and the two women couldn't help chuckling at the sight. "I see. In this case, lord Odamaron, I apologize for misjudging you", the druidess said, bowing her head and he made a dismissing gesture.
"Oh, it's all right, I'm used to it. At least you were decent enough to come in and talk to me, instead of charging with your sword poised to kill like some other uncivilized people did in the past. Seriously, I understand that there are evil Liches out there, but not all of us are so idiotic to waste our immortality to be petty and cruel, some of us actually try to be of help. For example, there is a good friend of mine who has been around for seven centuries now and he became a Lich for the sole purpose to learn all he could about healing, in order to fasten the progresses of mortals in the medical field. If the doctors today have better understanding of the human body and how to heal it, they have him to thank for it".
"How did he gain such knowledge?", the Half-Elf asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of her voice. "He used the corpses he took from the recently dug graves, of course. Ian is a doctor, he doesn't kill, ever. Even when some foolish adventurer or overzealous paladin barges in his hideout to kill him just because he is a Lich, he simply hides in his phylactery and waits for them to leave before respawning and going back to his work. Evil Liches exist, but they are not the only Liches who exist", he added firmly, "And now, please, remove the runes and kill me, but not with that mace, little girl".
Meg nodded, then she took a rag and a bottle of water out of her pack, wetted the rag and set to scrubbing the blood off of the floor, until half of the circle was gone, "Done. Now, what weapon do we need to use to kill you without actually killing you for good?". He hummed and looked around, "There is a sword over there, it's simple steel without enchantments or anything fancy. That will do". "Give me a moment, please", she gestured to Yoshimo, "Please, can you do it? As a priestess, I'm forbidden to wield a sword".
The Kozakuran sighed and nodded, sheathing his katana bathed in holy water and picking up the simple and slightly rusted sword, "My apologies, Odamaron-san", he said and the Lich chuckled. "Oh, no problem, little boy. Now simply strike my heart, that will be enough". The bounty hunter nodded and thrust the sword so hard into Odamaron's chest that it came out on the other side and the body dissolved into dust as the soul fled to its secret hiding place. "Well, it's done. Thank you, sensei. Now search for traps and take everything you find", Meg said.
"Hai, sekai no hikari", he tossed the sword aside and eagerly set to looting the room, finding a handful of star sapphires and an odd looking skull that buzzed with dark magic, "What shall we do with this?". The Painbearer examined the item closely and made a face, "It's evil. I'll keep it for now and destroy it the first chance I get", she decided, stuffing it in her Bag of Holding, "Now let's go and keep your katana ready: I fear that the next opponents we'll face won't be so civil as this one".