Chapter 94
I struggled with the creation of the ritual, drawing it from my memory proved harder than expected. The potency of it was lessened due to the lack of the map as a focus point, though I did not regret tossing it into that lake. While it had shown me where my accusers were, once Rhea knew I had it, it showed her where I was as well.
I completed it far closer to the deadline of when the map wouldve updated than I wouldve liked. I was wearing the relic ring at the time to further amplify the effect, and as the magic poured over me and out into the world. I could just barely feel the thread that connected me to whatever they were using to track me.
It strained, the magic of the area distorting the string, the illusion ring fighting against it, and finally the ritual directly attacked it. Though it didnt break, the connection warped massively, far more than it ever had before. I didnt know how long it would last, but judging from previous experience it would last quite a while. To be safe I would make sure I redid the ritual at least twice a week, depending on how long I was here.
I left my new ritual room, which happily enough had been relatively easy to make thanks to the utility of this now being my dungeon. Quite a bit of mana went into setting the ritual room up, and there were still many improvements I would love to carry out, but it made the process of casting a ritual far easier.
Outside, Raven and Maxwell had been waiting for me, and I gave them a thumbs up indicating that it had gone successfully.
The first floor of my lair was full of what I guessed were storage rooms. They were empty except for the ruins of broken crates and dust. On the second floor we found what may have been living quarters. They were nice, likely for the low-ranking attendants who wouldve tended to the masses that once worshipped at this altar. There were broken bed frames and what had once been some kind of mattress. One of these rooms was what I had turned into my ritual room.
I positioned the two zombie snakes at the entrance to a set of stairs leading down. The most interesting thing we had found on this floor was a map in what mustve been a dining room and cafeteria. I had no idea what language it was in, but it was carved into the wall and from what we had been able to deduce, I understood two of the legends on it. It indicated the floor below us would be more housing of some kind and that far deeper there were larger storage rooms.
Still deeper yet, there were rooms marked with the housing symbol, along with another one that I guessed was a mark for different ranks. The map showed the ziggurat went down at least ten more floors, if not more. The details of the lower floors became very lacking, which only made sense if this area were the housing for the low-ranking members of the cult. They wouldnt need detailed information about things well above their station.
What now? Maxwell asked.
Well, I glanced up at the ceiling. Im going to make a few adjustments for Snappy, Tuffy, and our horses so they have more room. Ill widen the stairs or something so they can come down and turn that first floor into some kind of stable. Then Im going to spend a day or two resting, I need it. Raven, can you make sure they are well fed and cared for?
Sure, Raven said. But Ill need some way to get out so I can gather resources. Besides, I want to make sure those two minks know Im in charge.
I just chuckled and added it to my list of things to do.
Im probably gunna log off for a bit then, Maxwell said. I havent had many chances to since weve been on the run for so long.
Ill talk with you in a couple of days then, I said.
Maxwell being gone would suck, but he hardly had had any time to deal with stuff back on Earth over our flight.
***
It took me several hours of constantly depleting my mana pool to reshape parts of the dungeon to allow the animals to travel to the second floor, transforming rooms into stables, and creating a hidden exit for Raven so she could sneak out. I then returned to what would be the third floor, if you counted the entrance as a floor.
By the time I was finished, I was mentally drained, this enabled me to slip into the meditation that brought me to the Mindscape relatively easily.
You know, Damien grumbled as I appeared sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floating island at the center of my Mindscape, Im going to quit answering those messages if thats how you thank me.
It took me a moment to remember what he was talking about. The last time I talked with Damien had been when I got the set of rings. He had advised me to channel death energy into them so I could equip the rings that boosted my intelligence. What do you mean? I asked.
You covered me in flowers.
I looked over and saw him glaring at me.
He didnt mean to, Ilore said, placing a hand on Damiens shoulder. He was just trying to say thank you, and they werent that bad.
I am a necromancer, I do not do flowers, Damien protested.
Oh relax, Ilore scolded.
I glanced between them and tried to hide my smile. It was clear that in my absence theyd grown closer. Once again, I did not care as long as they continued to do their jobs. I was hoping you could give me some information on this lair dungeon Ive claimed.
Of course, I used several of them in my time, Damien assured me.
Before you two get started, Ilore met my gaze. You need to get better about teaching Raven dark magic if you ever want her to be able to learn from me.
Im hoping Ill have time to now that I mightve found a hiding place, I assured Ilore as I got to my feet.
You had better, Ilore warned. Anyways, I need to get back to work. Nothing has really changed, so no point in you coming by.
Besides, you shouldnt spend too long in here, Damien said, motioning me to follow. Rest is important even if your body doesnt need it.
Damien led me to the side of the island where he sat down with his legs hanging over the side. The view was spectacular. Other islands floated both above and below us, drifting around like clouds. The light of the Mindscape didnt come from any single source, and was present all around, yet seemingly shadows still existed. There were so many things about this dimension that wouldnt make sense in the physical world.
So, the lair, like I said, I used my fair share of them, Damien said. But I cant say I have ever been the one who occupied them. At my questioning look he just shrugged. I would create monsters to occupy them in my stead, or I would set up the means to create one myself, or Id conquer one. Theres a lot of uses for lairs, so long as you maintain control over the monster you set up in charge.
You know, that actually makes sense when I think about it. I leaned forward to watch one of the larger islands pass below us. If the monsters in the lair could be pretty much anything, then of course necromancers could install their own minions to run it.
Exactly, Damien agreed. There are some hidden benefits as well. There is a certain amount of nature energy that is harnessed by lairs that can be sent to the person who controls the monster, or it can be used to reshape the lair, which is what you have been doing.
I thought I was using my own mana? I asked.
You have, Damien confirmed. But youre also utilizing the nature energy, nature energy is very difficult in the best of times to use. From what I understand of your world, there are some similarities between it and how you understood energy, though that isnt the best comparison. Simply put, you needed to use your own mana because you cannot naturally use nature energy.
How do I gain that ability? I asked. I had heard about it before. It was one of the four major energy types of this universe, but had only ever seen it or heard about it in the list with no real explanations.
You dont, Damien shook his head. This is getting off topic, but to abate your curiosity I will give you a brief explanation. Nature energy is both the weakest of the energy types while simultaneously having the potential to be the most powerful. Even at the height of your power when you became a Lich, you were only just beginning to brush the edges of what it would take to truly utilize nature energy. Its like, hmmm He paused in thought for a moment. Ah, heres an example that I hope you understand. What makes gods as powerful as they are is their ability to utilize nature energy. They can use it at its most potent form as easily as you can work magic, but its what sets them apart. Without the ability to utilize it with that level of ease, there is basically no point in using nature energy.
I hadnt really interacted with any gods, but from what I understood that was a good thing. I was by no means done being curious about what nature energy wasif anything, I was more curious. But I trusted Damien if he said that even at the height of my power, I was only barely beginning to reach that point where it was usable. For now, it was merely something outside of my ability to use.
So why is it important that the lair creates it if its so hard, and nearly impossible for me to use? I asked.
Its not, Damien scoffed. Never said it was, I just told you why I did it for myself.
Oh. So, what is useful for me to know?
Well, it would be a really good place for you to stash your phylactery, Damien explained. I know you get some nice buffs for carrying it with you, but youre much better off tucking it away someplace. I nodded, having planned to do that already if this turned out to be a safe place for me. Secondly, and as you have already discovered, it can both hide you and provide a certain degree of magical assistance. Just the ability to utilize nature energy, even if it takes you quite a bit of mana, means you can make things like that ritual room fairly easily.
So, it does hide me then, I noted.
It helps at any rate. That ritual you cast and the blood magic in the area all work together quite well, Damien confirmed my own thoughts on the matter.
What do you think I should be doing while Im here? I asked.
Well, theres a lot of things you can do, Damien met my gaze. His eyes, like mine, had the same purple glow, but were human in nature. First off and foremost, you obviously need to keep growing in strength. The more powerful you are the more survivable you are. As we both know this is not a regular situation you find yourself. Second, you should explore that ziggurat, it both will allow you to expand your lair, and I get the feeling that theres probably something special down there.
He was about to continue when I cut them off. Hold up, two things, why would I want to expand the lair and why do you think theres something special about it?
Expanding is important because it both increases the power of the lair, and allows for you to leave behind a more powerful creature in your place when you move on. Heck, given the right circumstances you might be able to turn this into a proper dungeon. After all, its on top of a massive ziggurat. Which is also the reason why I think there is something special here. Think about it, why would somebody have built such a large ziggurat in the middle of this marsh? Its not exactly the most hospitable place.
Thats a very good point, I nodded. The only other ziggurat Ive seen of this size was with Friar Brown, and that had quite the forge hidden inside of it. I shuddered a little at that memory.
Exactly. And even though blood magic is in a way the opposite of what you are, Damien held out his hand tilting it back and forth. Kind of anyways. We both know that means theres quite a bit of capacity for you to convert it. Can you imagine if you had turned that forge from the blood magic forge to a death forge? That wouldve been truly awe-inspiring.
Maybe Ill get the chance to do that here. I cackled a little thinking about how Friar Brown wouldve taken that. From what I understand, theres often forges like that in all of the larger ziggurats. The blood weapons they created were what they were known for.
Just dont go and make any large magical changes now, that would be a dead giveaway that youre here, Damien warned.
I wont. Thats why I left the blood pool alone, I explained. I will just exist inside the shell for the time being. Im sure eventually Ill be discovered and will have to move on or dig in my heels and fight, then I can make some changes.
Like I said, just dont forget to leave behind a minion to run the dungeon once you leave, Damien said. I can picture you now, transforming it from an altar of blood into a great mausoleum where you entomb both your followers and enemies alike and spew forth a plague upon the world. The wistful sound of his voice made me chuckle.
Speaking of plagues. I pulled his attention back to me. Did you notice that monster I created was turning others into zombies?
I missed that event happening, Damiens attention was suddenly back on me, a hungry look in his eye. Are you saying one of your minions turned something it killed into a zombie?
That is exactly what I am saying. I matched his smile.
Oh, my dear boy. Damien began to laugh manically. This changes everything! You need to focus on re-creating that. Now that youve created it once it will be unique to you, and its doubtful someone else can re-create it. And since it will be uniquely your magic, you need to take the time to figure it out.
I dont necessarily have a use for it though, I protested. I dont want to wage war against Olattee or destroy this kingdom.
Damien gave me an incredulous look. You cant be serious. You are a part of the order that serves balance, essentially, and theyre okay with you killing them. That should tell you something, aside from what youve seen yourself. Were normally seen as the bad guys, but seriously, these people are ridiculous. Damien shook his head. Just think about it.
We continued chatting for a little longer, Damien mostly giving me different ideas about things to do with the lair and how I should go about investigating the body. It wouldve been possible for me to replicate the spell without the body, but Damien was very glad I had grabbed it since it would make the process easier.
Eventually I drifted off into that space that isnt quite sleep, between the Mindscape and the physical world, where my mind actually gets rest.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m