Role

Chapter 4

It All Came Back Part 2
Added Wed Jun 20 17:48:30 2012 at level 25:

Hagmish met the drow at an inn in Arkham, just as he was told. They gathered in a rented room and
were preparing to depart when the drow called Hagmishs attention to him. Before we go, I require you
to swear an oath of service to me for the duration of this job. The drow told him in an unquestioning
tone.

All right, I be swearin ter serve ya til this work be complete Hagmish flippantly grumbled back to the
drow.

Not just yet, the drow sneered as he deftly produced a long, wicked looking dagger with a sapphire hilt.
With the speed of a drow, the mage grabbed Hagmishs hand and ran the blade across his palm drawing
blood. Now say the words., the drow demanded. Looking reluctantly at the drow, Hagmish repeated
the words he just said. The moment he completed them the air crackled about him with an unseen
energy, the sapphire glowed an eerie blue and he suddenly felt as if his soul had been saddled. There.,
the drow said smugly Now you are bound to me by powerful magic until you die or this task has been
completed.

What tha hell were that!, Hagmish demanded. What tha hell be so important ta do that yer gotter
trick me inta swearin a magic oath!

Since you are bound to me beyond your control I see no harm in telling you. The drow calmy replied.

You are likely unaware, but, necromancy in part is the study of negative energy. It is the opposite of
positive, life-giving energy. It is what animates corpses, causes their rot, and so forth. Long ago, there
lived a necromancer named Mahasa who believed that positive and negative energy existed in balance,
and producing negative energy upset the balance, which is why it is so difficult to control and can have
some detrimental side effects, such as the decay of a Lichs natural body. Many years ago, I discovered a
book written by one of this mages apprentices where it stated that Mahasa believed he discovered a
way to produce negative energy in such a way that it didnt upset the natural balance. It is a fascinating
claim, because if it were true it could mean endless, powerful possibilities. It would mean that he could
become the first truly immortal lich. A lich that never died. A lich that never decayed. One that
regenerated instantaneously and whose zombies would be the same. In fact, I believe that with the right
application this power could even be used to control the living. As it is, this manuscript claims that
Mahasa was destroyed during the becoming process and his apprentices conclusion was that whatever
he tried to add to the process from his discovery was the cause of his demise. The truth is, I have since
learned this apprentice was one of two apprentices and the other was the only one present during the
ritual. You see, I summoned the apprentices soul back from the grave to learn what secrets about
Mahasa I could.