Chapter 25
I see youve brought the herbs I requested, Rhea said, indicating the bundle I carried.
I have. Fortunately, there are quite a few that grow near where I built my home, I said as I set the bundle down. In fact, I think once I have my home fully set up, I will try and cultivate them on the mountains.
That would be wonderful, Rhea said. Flame blade is quite the valuable herb. It would be a great benefit to the town if we had a steady supply. Unfortunately, no one has ever been able to figure out a way to effectively raise them as a crop.
My plan isnt to change where theyre growing, its to develop those places theyre already at into more effective environments. My guess is theres something about the areas they thrive thats specialone that hasnt been able to be replicated.
Well, you appear to have a solid plan in motion, Rhea said, taking on a more serious tone. Ezekiel, I have been meaning to ask Why are you here? A man of your skills could make a much better living in a more populated area.
I shrugged. Maybe I just dont like people. The same can be said for Derek. Hes quite the talented woodworker, so why is he here in this small, middle of nowhere town?
I know Dereks reasons, and he has very good ones, Rhea said. But you I cant figure outand its certainly not because you dont like people. Youre running from something.
So, what if I am. I met her gaze unflinchingly. I liked Rhea and didnt want her opinion of me to change, but I also wasnt going to tell her why I was here. A truth like that would certainly change her opinion.
She let out a long sigh. Fair enough. Just know Im always here if you need to talk, Ezekiel.
Thank youand please, call me Zeke. I smiled and turned to head back to my boat.
Wait, Zeke, I do have another job for you, Rhea said.
I resisted groaning. She always had jobs for me.
If you complete it, you will be rewarded. And by more than just my gratitude this time.
I chuckled. What is it?
I have detected the presence of an evil shrine in the mountains beyond your house, Rhea said. I dont know where it came from, all I know is that Olattee let me know it was there. I would like you to investigate. Hopefully you will be able to remove the shrine and figure out where it came from.
I can do that. Now this type of job was much more up my alley. How deep into the mountains was it?
Here, Rhea held out a compass. This will point you in the right direction. It felt like it was deep into the mountains, potentially several days.
I eyed the needle of the compass; it wasnt pointing north. It will take me a few days to prepare for the journey, but Ill investigate this for you.
Thank you, Zeke, she smiled. I had been planning on visiting your home in the next few days, though it can wait until you get back.
Ill look forward to your visit. Ill put a torch out on my dock to indicate when the job is done so that you know when Im back. The lake was just long enough that my dock wasnt quite visible, but a flame posted above it would be visible.
***
I hoisted my backpack on my shouldersit wasnt full of food or water, since I didnt require sustenance. Instead, it was filled with supplies that would make camping more pleasant.
Using my staff as a walking stick, I began my journey up the valley where Id built my house. The hike was hard, but thanks to my undead endurance, I was barely winded by time I reached the head of a stream that poured out of a small lake nestled at the top of the mountain.
The crisp, clear water, brimming with plump fish made me wish I could taste. Catching a mountain trout and cooking it over a fire sounded amazing. Alas, it was not something I could do. That is to say, I could do it, but there would be no point without being able to enjoy the taste. The lack of taste was one of the biggest things I missed. But hope was not all lost. A powerful enough Lich could taste. All I had to do was reach that precipice of strength.
The compass had led me to the north side of the mountain, where I followed a goat trail along the edge of a ridge. The vantage gave me a spectacular view of the mountains. Tall and jagged, they were covered in trees down into the valleys, their gray rocky mountain peaks rising out of the tree lines.
I made camp in a small grove of birch growing along the stream. Hanging a hammock Id made; I laid down to meditate. The gentle rocking soothed me into a familiar trance. The next day I woke and continued my journey.
The stream I was now following flowed deeper into the mountain range away from my home. It didnt take long before it led to a small lake nestled between the mountains. At the far end of the lake, smoke rose from a small village. I had no idea there were settlements deeper into the mountains. I carefully made my way until I was able to see the village in more detail.
Goblins lived here. I did my best to remain hidden while scouting the village. It looked to be new, only recently set up. No road led out of it, though there was likely a tunnel leading deep under the mountains. Goblins were cave dwellers. This was likely an outpost set up by some goblin nation that lived around here.
And there, amongst the goblin village, was the shrine Rhea had sent me to find.
The shrine was a gruesome thing. A bowl sat in the middle full of a red liquidmost likely blood. At the four corners around it, were white stacks of what looked like skulls.
The village would quickly grow out of control if it was left alone. I decided to wait for nightfall despite the goblins also being night creaturesI had more advantages at night than they did.
When night gripped the mountains, I snuck into the village using the small dark magic I had available to cloak myself in shadows. Though I would likely need to destroy this village, I wanted to see what the shrine was first.
A thumping began to sound from within the village. Peeking around a squat building, I saw a ritual taking place. Above the bowl, a platform had been erected, and a goblin in feathered robes stood above it, chanting. At his feet lay a bound, rough looking man. Too late did I realize what was about to happen.
The chanting cut off and before I could react, the shaman slit the mans throat. He gasped and struggled, but was held in place by his bonds. His blood flowed down to the bowl, and within seconds the man quit moving. The chanting began again with renewed vigor.
Despite not having a stomach, I felt sick to mine.
Two larger goblins dragged a cage forward with some kind of animal inside.
Id seen enough. With a roar of rage, I stepped out of the shadows and hurled my blade-staff like a javelin at the shaman. Caught by surprise, all the shaman had time to do was look up, mouth open in surprise, before my blade impaled its chest. Cries of alarm rang out. In the chaos, I rushed forward, leapt over the bowl, and grabbed the shaft of my weapon.
I ripped my blade-staff upward and all but cut the goblin in half, the sharp blade splitting it like a ripe melon. Its own blood joined the bowl it had been so eager to spill innocent life into.
You want to fill this bowl with blood? I yelled. Then come to me and I will fill it with yours.
All around me, goblins snarled in rage. One rushed me, claws outstretched. I cut it in half, and one part of his body splashed into the bowl of blood. Triggered, the entire village swarmed.
Spinning my weapon, I mowed them down, goblin after goblin falling before me. The altar was soon covered in pieces of goblin. The village wasnt large, but they kept coming, and their numbers were a bit concerning. Their blind fury would be their downfall. The guards proved to be more challenging, but the superior reach of my weapon gave me an edge, and their blood joined to the growing pool sloshing at my feet.
Despite how quickly I was taking them out, I was beginning to get overwhelmed. In desperation, I did something Id sworn never to do. I released the spell that made me look human and reverted into a skeleton. The goblins gasped and stepped back. Before they could recover, I channeled my returned magic into one of the piles of skulls. Lifting into the air, they began to rocket toward my attackers like missiles.
Many missed, but those that hit it exploded in miniature blasts of death magic, leaving behind necrotic flesh and dead goblins. I whirled just in time to catch a heavy blow from a great sword wielding goblin. By his armor and the small circlet on his head I guessed he was the chieftain. Amidst a pile of bodies, we dueled.
It was fairly one-sided. My superior training and weapon allowed me to secure the upper hand. Whirling behind, I cut at the back of his legs, severing his hamstrings.
You wanted blood? I hissed from behind it. Then let whatever god you serve have yours!
The chieftain had just begun to turn his head when I rammed my blade through the back of his neck and cut to one side. A spray of blood shot out, merging with the veritable red marsh below us.
In retrospect, that probably wasnt a very smart move. The eerie silence that followed was chilling. Every goblin was scattered around me, hacked to pieces. My wickedly sharp blade had severed arms and legs like tissue paper.
One look at the bowl full of blood, and I realized my mistake. I should not have fought the goblins here. The blood swirled into a whirlpool, and I activated my ability to see magic, unveiling the divine energies swirling around it. It was a powerful ritualistic magic, one I couldnt stop.
And while I lack such power, maybe I could disrupt it.
There were symbols that represented a god of blood, an entity some goblins served. I scrambled over, and using the tip of my blade, scratched it out. The magic roiled going out of control, threatening to unleash an even worse effect than letting the original spell take place. I scratched in a new symbolthat of a death god Id served when I was a player. It had all been role-play at the time, and I never thought anything of it.
Now I knew that serving a dark god wasnt necessarily a great idea. But the knowledge was useful.
I went around the circle, removing every other symbol and replacing it with my own. My hope was that the two gods would fight each other for the sacrifice. Reexamining the building magic unveiled my gamble to be correct. The divine magics were clashing.
Which meant it was likely not a good idea to remain here. I turned to run, but the cage the goblins had been dragging forward caught my eye. A lynx was trapped, and even though it took me a little extra time, I dashed over and cut the lock away.
The lynx burst free, and after a pointed stare at me, dashed away. I followed his example.
The release of magical power was palpable. Two beings appeared. One was a blood elemental. The other was a spectral figure of dark magic with swirling etheric blue and green throughout. The two creatures clashed in a tumbling fight, and quickly demolished the few huts that used to be the goblin village. Creatures like this couldnt survive for long on this plane. Though the winner would be greatly weakened, I did not remain to watch the fight.
The clashing elementals roared, their sky cracking clash soon becoming dampened by the mountains the farther I went. The power of the elementals was alarming. I was glad Id interrupted whatever ritual that was, even if it wasnt in the smartest way.
Making my way in the dark, I traversed back up the mountain to the lake that led into my valley. It took me a large portion of the night to reach that spot, but once I was inside my own piece of this remote land, I felt much safer and decided to rest.
I didnt bother to set up my campsite, I just sat down and leaned my back against a tree, and rested my blade-staff in my arms. A rustling caught my attention not long after. Something moved in the brush. A few moments later, the lynx Id saved stepped out. It looked at me with big feline eyes, then sat down, beginning to clean itself.
Hello, are you following me? I asked with a chuckle.
The lynx was a beautiful creature, with shady gray fur with streaks of brown and pointed tufts of fur on its ears. I carefully reached out to it and saw my hand was skeletal. Pulling it back, I cast my cloaking illusion spell to look like a human. Though the lynx hadnt seemed alarmed by my undead nature, it was best to stay cloaked at all times.
Holding my hand out once more, I waited for the creature to make the next move. After staring at me a moment, the lynx got up and pushed his head into my hand. Encouraged, I scratched it behind the ears. Lynx, unlike their bigger brethren, were able to purr, and after a moment of scratching, my new friend purred. It was a deep sound. Much deeper than any cat Id known before.
The next day I continued down the valley and the lynx stayed with me. It would prowl in the brush and occasionally I thought it was stalking something. When we arrived back at my clearing, the lynx began to investigate. Satisfied the area was secure, it curled up in a beam of sun and promptly fell asleep.
Seems I had a new friend.
After putting a torch out on the end of the dock for the village to see, I set to work around the clearing.
I still needed to put the finishing touches on my roof and dig out a basement. My long-term plans involved adding multiple wings and rooms, transforming it into more of a home.
Id previously arranged with Derek to install a temporary sawmill powered by the creek to cut the planks for my roof. He had a small one that he kept on hand for helping people build houses away from town, when it would be too much effort to supply them with planks from his bigger mill.
I spent the day preparing the area where we would be setting up the mill.
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