The party has found themselves in the lair of a Lich! Whatever shall they do?
Izuku's blade was in hand before he could blink, held defensively in front of him. His free arm had been thrown back, blocking the view of the others in the hopes that the Lich, and yes, he knew what this creature was, would target him first and perhaps they would have a chance to escape.
The lich however, did not seem in any hurry to cast any spells, still staring unerringly at the group with its burning 'eyes'. It tilted its head to the side, almost curiously, as it looked over Izuku. "Is there a problem?"
Izuku blinked at it, a little lost by its lack of hostility. He knew better than to trust a lich however, and kept his blade at the ready as he chanced a quick glance back at the others. Tenya's spear was ready, shield in hand, barely a half step behind him. Ochako was right beyond the knight, her hammer glowing with her magic as she stared wide-eyed at a creature from legend that was just before her. Tsuyu and Shoto both had their staves raised, frost swirling about the tip of Shoto's as Tsuyu had a small water bubble floating ready to form into a defensive wall if need be.
Izuku turned back to the still unconcerned lich and spoke softly. "Not unless you have a problem with us."
The lich threw its head back, its jaw splitting open with a clacking noise as it laughed. "Problem? Whyever would I? You're the first visitors I've had in years! Well, save those wretched shadows, but they aren't much for conversation I must confess."
Izuku worked his jaw in confusion. Everything he knew about liches was telling him something was wrong here. Liches were undead monstrosities of the highest caliber, powerful mages who feared death and found a way to transcend it by becoming an insanely powerful undead being, keeping its intelligence and personality and becoming nigh-immortal. While it was theoretically possible to destroy a lich's physical body, it mattered not since its soul would be drawn to a special magical artifact called a phylactery, which would allow it to reform its body and return, ready to enact its vengeance on those who dared try to slay it.
To become a lich was a closely guarded secret that only the most heinous of monsters would seek out…one which called for the sacrifice of souls and bodies, which would twist and torment thousands as far as Izuku knew. Liches, by and large, were terrifying…and this one was just speaking to them casually, even friendly. It made no sense.
The lich seemed tired of the silence, tilting its head to the side once more. "I'm sorry, have I offended you somehow? I must apologize, my manners are lacking. Would you like to come in?"
"Why? So you may more easily harvest our souls?!" Tenya snarled, his grip on his spear tightening.
The lich looked taken aback, one skeletal hand placing itself on its chest in a manner reminiscent of an offended noble. "Why, I would never do such a thing! Soul harvesting is an act only a monster would perform, don't you know?"
"...and yet you are a lich, which means you have followed this practice," Shoto pointed out drily.
The lich jerked back, glancing down at itself. Lifting its hands up to gaze at them, the flaming eyes seemed to brighten up as it let out a rueful chuckle. "Oh. Oh dear, there appears to be a terrible misunderstanding. Please, please, do come in and allow me to explain, I grant you my word you will find safety here." As it spoke, the air about them trembled, a wave of energy softly echoing the words as it passed by them.
Izuku's jaw dropped. "D-did you just…swear a Vow?"
The lich nodded. "Of course. How else could I reassure you?"
Ochako tapped Izuku on the shoulder, confusion writ plain on her face. "Um…what'd it do?"
Izuku sputtered for a moment, before Tsuyu cut him off with soft words. "A powerful enough wielder of magic can swear a Vow. It is a magically binding contract, where the repercussions for violating it are extreme, even to a Lich. Your own magic would turn against you. And unlike most contracts or deals, there really are no loopholes. If anything, Vow's are really broad in how the binding interprets what you said. If some external being came in here, completely outside the Lich's bidding and hurt us, it'd count as a violation since it just promised us safety in here."
The lich waved its hand dismissively. "I am not concerned by such trivial matters. Nothing in these ruins is a threat to me, and while you are my guest you will be treated as such. Please…I do mean it, you are safe here. Come, come. I shall get Edgar to make some tea. Edgar…Edgar! Wherever did you…ah, there you are!" As the Lich spoke, a slender, golden humanoid statue stepped out of the shadows, small purple lines of energy running throughout its form. It stepped up next to the lich and offered a bow, one hand across its waist, the other tucked behind its back.
"Yes, Master?" it intoned in a soft, gentle voice.
"Ah, Edgar, would you be so kind as to make some tea? Do any of you have a preference? I am afraid I can no longer taste it, so I don't really recall what's good."
Izuku shared a very confused look with his party, before scratching the back of his neck nervously. He was still weirded out and concerned, but the Vow really did make the group relax more. "Um…no preference?"
The golden statuette named Edgar turned to them, glowing purple holes for eyes staring at them for a moment before it bowed in their direction. "Very well. I shall return momentarily." With that, it strode off to the east, vanishing behind a curtain in the wall.
The lich turned back to them with another wide, toothy grin. "Well, while he does that, please, come in and make yourselves at home! Where did I put those spare chairs…oh, right!" It snapped its fingers, a brief magical flare about its hand…giving the group no time to react, as five chairs appeared behind them, sweeping them off their feet and scooting them into the room, skidding to a half around the table the lich was seated at. The door slammed shut behind them with a loud slam, leaving them blinking in confusion as the lich continued to smile.
Izuku took a moment to stare at the chair he found himself seated in…a dark wood, polished to a brilliant sheen, with golden inlays. Plush deep purple padding covered the back and the seat of the chair, surprisingly comfortable for how ornate and gaudy it was. His one hand still gripped onto his sword however, and he refused to let go of it, keeping a tight grip. The vow reduced his nerves…but did not remove them.
"So, shall we do introductions? Or is that on you? I'm terribly sorry, it's been so long since I've spoken to anyone polite after all!"
"Um…uh…I'm Izuku, I'm an adventurer from Elysium?" Izuku said cautiously.
"Elysium? What is that?" The lich asked.
"...the biggest city on Elyshia, since the Storms?" Tenya replied, confused.
The lich tilted its head to the side. "Huh. Do you mean the remnants of the old Drow Empire? I passed them on my way here."
"...that was three hundred years ago," Izuku replied drily.
"Oh, it's been that long? My apologies, time is odd for me."
Ochako shook her head and sighed. "I'm Ochako."
"Tenya, of the house of Idaten!"
"...Shoto."
"I'm Tsuyu."
The lich clapped its hands together with a wide 'grin'. "Excellent! I would tell you all my name but…I have forgotten it, to be frank. So you may call me as you wish!"
The party blinked at him, then shared a glance that spoke volumes. Izuku sighed, slumping in his chair. "Um…okay. Do…do you have a gender preference?"
"Nope! Forgot that too!"
Ochako spoke up. "How about Li?"
"...did you just cut two letters off the word 'Lich'?'" Shoto asked.
Ochako's cheeks pinked as her shoulders hunched, but the lich just cackled. "I love it! I'm Li!"
Izuku stared at Ochako for a moment, before shaking his head with a wry smile and turning back to the Lich…err…Li. "So um…what uh…what're you doing here?"
Li clapped cheerfully. "Oh, continuing my experiments!"
"What kind of experiments are those?" Tsuyu asked, eyes narrowed.
Li seemed to brighten up (an image truly disturbing on the bleached white skull that made up their head). "I'm so happy you asked! I've been researching how to make a concoction that could restore blighted lands to full health in a large-scale area!"
The room was silent as the party tried to reconcile a lich, an undead monstrosity that blights things by its very existence, trying to create something that would undo a blight? Izuku blinked in confusion once more (he was doing that a lot today, he mused internally). "...but…you're a lich?"
Li looked down at themselves, before jolting, their body clanking as the bones shifted. "Oh, I understand the confusion now! My apologies! I did not become a lich through the 'normal' methods of soul absorption and blight, you see. I relied on an alchemical process that simply consumed the essence of death. That's how I persist, you see…I feed on the undead. Which has the lovely side benefit of freeing any trapped souls to return to the proper afterlife."
Shoto's jaw dropped, the most extreme expression he'd shown yet. Tsuyu was not much better, as confused and shocked as anyone. Even Ochako, who knew little of these matters, knew how big a deal that was…an undead who saved other undead? The dark magic that created the undead trapped souls…for the intelligent undead, they normally feasted on souls or it was their own soul trapped, but when it came to unintelligent undead, they were just trapped souls inside a broken corpse. And this lich…freed them?
"...is that where all the undead that are supposed to be here have gone?" Izuku asked, his voice nearly silent in a shocked whisper.
Li nodded. "Yep! Well, that and my experiments. I'm not quite where I need to be but I am so close! And once I've done it…I can finally restore my home!"
"Your home?" Ochako managed to ask, her own shock fading quicker than the others.
Li nodded again. "Oh yes. Long before the Storms, my home was blighted by a dark mage, a wielder of a sword that could absorb other powers. He slew my family and my fiancee…but I managed to survive by absorbing the dark magic left, which made me, well, this! Ever since then I've made it my life…or well, unlife's mission to restore my home to what it once was!"
"...where is your home? I have not heard of any blighted lands from before the Storms," Tenya asked.
Li lifted one finger up, before pausing and looking contemplative. "...huh. I…I'm not entirely sure, actually. But don't worry, I keep comprehensive notes, it's somewhere in here! My memory can be spotty, you see. But that's why I write everything down, and Edgar keeps track of it for me."
Izuku let out a deep breath. Against his will, he'd come to be invested in Li's story and was a bit concerned that the lich had forgotten their goal. But he did not miss the comment about the sword, and shared a glance with Ochako. He nodded to her, the brunette pulling the hilt out of her bag and setting it on the table.
"Speaking of that sword, um…part of why we came here was to investigate this hilt. It…it might be from the same sword you mentioned?"
Li gently picked it up, holding it gingerly before their eyes. The blue flames in the sockets shimmered purple for a moment, half-hidden runes visible in the fires as they tilted their head this way and that with a contemplative hum. Li nodded. "Well, it certainly is similar. But the magic was tied to the entire sword, so I cannot tell for certain."
Izuku let out a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping. "I was afraid of that. There are supposed to be two swords, one does what you said, one is supposed to uplift people and bring hope. We're trying to figure out which one this hilt belongs to."
"You likely won't be able to tell unless you reforge the entire thing. It's interesting though…the enchantments on the hilt are truly fascinating."
"How so?" Ochako asked, eager for more information.
Li chuckled, the sound more like the clattering of bones than a voice. "It wants to be reforged. The hilt can lead you to what you need for the rest of it. I'm familiar with the concept. You will need to reforge the blade as well as find the gemstone that finalizes its creation. The hilt can lead you to a suitable metal, although the forging process I don't know myself. And once you've created the blade and brought the hilt and blade together, they can lead you to a suitable gem."
"How do we make it do that?!" Ochako asked, excitement evident in how she leaned forward over the table.
"Well, it must be held by one who has the potential to use it. If they hold it and focus on the history of the blades, on their original creation, it should point you somehow in the right direction," Li explained.
Ochako looked contemplative, staring at the hilt for a moment. She picked it up and closed her eyes, focusing on it…but feeling nothing from it. She pouted, before shrugging. She slid it over to Izuku, seated next to her, the green-haired man giving her a deadpan glare at her putting him on the spot. Her lips quirked up in a half smile as she nodded at it, making him sigh as he picked it up.
Izuku stared at it, focusing on the hilt in the way Li had mentioned. Thinking back on what he knew of the blade's creation, what they knew of its purpose, of what it did…but since it could be either blade, he was unsure which story to focus on. Mentally shrugging, knowing magic could be weird, he just focused on both…on the uplifting and the conquering, on the hope and the despair, on the stories he could envision in his mind from what Nico had told him.
Something tugged at the back of his mind, something pushing, pulling, like it wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. He narrowed his eyes as he subconsciously gripped it tighter, trying to push it further, to call upon whatever he could just barely not hear. Green sparks alight on his skin as he squeezed it tighter, not realizing he'd activated his magic as he felt like he was so close…but it all vanished a moment later as Izuku's vision swam, a headache suddenly noticeable as he swayed in his chair.
It was like all sound had been muted and he hadn't noticed, as suddenly everything was louder, brighter, in his face. He nearly fell out of his chair, his entire body feeling drained, but was caught by a strong arm that wrapped around his back with a surprisingly gentle touch. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear the blurriness out of his vision, seeing a bob of brown before him. Blinking again, he managed to focus to see Ochako's worried face in his view, and beyond her, Tsuyu and Tenya also peered at him with concern on their face.
"Izuku? Izuku, are you okay?" Ochako asked softly, concern audible in her tone.
"...y-yeah. I just…ugh," Izuku muttered, still feeling woozy. "I felt…something, from it, but I couldn't get anything clear." He managed to get out, still feeling very off balance.
Ochako's arm helped straighten him up in the chair, leaning him forward slightly so he could lean against the table. A small cup of softly steaming tea was pushed towards him, Izuku glancing up to see the golden construct named Edgar there, a tray of tea balanced perfectly on one arm. Izuku nodded his thanks, picking it up with a quivering hand and taking a careful sip. The warm liquid did make him feel better, letting out a soft sigh of satisfaction as he found himself leaning back into Ochako's arms.
It was only after a few seconds that he realized what he was doing, and his eyes went wide. He quickly jolted upright, cheeks flushed, sputtering as he set the teacup back down. The sound of Tsuyu and Ochako giggling out of his eyesight made him hunch his shoulders more, but he cleared his throat. He could deal with how much he enjoyed that much later, when they weren't talking about their mission.
"Uh…yeah, so, I didn't um, get anything from it?" He asked, directing it at Li.
"You likely need to understand its history better. I would say check out the library! It should have something on the Brother's Blades!"
"Where is this library?" Shoto asked softly, the first words he'd spoken in a while.
"Oh, it's in the Vampire's territory," Li replied nonchalantly.
Tenya and Ochako did a spit take, the tea they had been sipping suddenly spurted over the table. Edgar quickly began to wipe it up and was refilling their cups a moment later. "V-Vampires?" Ochako managed to sputter out.
"Oh yes. Very rude, actually. They keep trying to kill me or make me leave. Never goes well for them. Apparently there is something here they are guarding and refuse to leave it. Very vicious too, they keep killing people for their blood needs. Not a fan," Li explained, waving one hand in the air as they spoke.
"...but the library is in their territory?" Izuku asked, his mind now razor focused on what Li was saying.
"Yep! And trust me, they won't be open to discussion, not like I am. The thing they are guarding they are too afraid to let loose, apparently. Something about it being a predator of their kind. I'm not entirely sure, it was sealed before I arrived, and the seal on it is powerful. It'd take me a while to break it, to be honest. So not even sure what they are so concerned about," Li said, shrugging.
"...it was our duty to find and remove the cause of the dark magic corruption. Li does not radiate dark magic. It is likely these vampires that cause it," Shoto said softly, glancing over at the rest of the party.
"Oh, that's why you're here? I thought it was for the sword?" Li asked, tilting their head to the side.
"It's…it's both, really. The sword is a personal mission, the corruption here is the guild mission we're on," Izuku explained.
"Oh well then, yes. You need to get rid of them. Specifically, their leader, the head of the coven. I forget his name. Not that it matters. You'll know him, he's a dramatic prick really. Always dresses in black and red, very talkative. He will absolutely monologue at you if you let him. I mean, I can understand wanting to honor the classics, but he takes it to a new level."
"...guess that's our next stop," Izuku said.
Shoto nodded. "Yes. That would complete our mission and give you access to this library you need to see."
Li held up a hand. "One sec, let me get you a map! It's not hard to get there from here! Although watch out for their pets…they keep a bunch of creatures under their thrall, so you'll want to be careful." Li stood up and began rummaging on a nearby desk, scattering books and papers as they searched for this map they spoke of.
Izuku nodded. "Yeah. We'll be careful. Um…thanks, for all your help, Li."
"Oh no need for thanks, I appreciate the company. You're welcome to return here before you leave as well! Perhaps take a moment to rest. I would not mind more company, after all!" Li turned about, a wide smile on their skull. They held up a piece of parchment, small black lines bleeding off their fingertips and drawing out a map in front of the party's eyes. "This should help!"
Tsuyu reached out and took it, holding it in front of her so everyone in the group could crowd about and look over it. Li reached over and pointed to a spot a little ways away, with a little emblem of a blood droplet on it. "That's where their main spot is. Their territory begins here, and here you can see I marked what traps I know, but the last time I ran into them was a century ago so…my knowledge may be a bit out of date about those."
Izuku smiled up at Li. "Thank you so much for your help! We'll come back before we leave, for sure!"
"You're welcome! Stay safe and good luck!" Li said, waving one hand and causing the door to open behind them. The gathered adventurers all shared a quick glance and nod, before hefting their weapons and heading to the door. They had a map, a target, and as much information as they could gather before going off. Time to end this.