Finder Cloudburst Chapter 4, Part 2
I led this villain here.
I brought this danger home.
I will make this right
and destroy him.
I would have attacked but
I was frozen in place.
My body would not
listen to me.
Fear struck me down like a
huge, tumbling boulder
bounding down from a
tall mountain peak.
With dagger in right hand,
Wren drew a strange design
in the air, mumbling,
“We weren't ready.”
With wand in her left hand,
she drew another sign
in the air. A gout
of fire burst forth.
It raced to the dead man,
faster than I could see.
It withered away
and the foe laughed.
“You think you can harm me,
with your spells, weak wizard?”
Fetid words spoke by
decaying throat.
He drew a symbol in
the air with his own wand
and a bolt of fire
struck Wren Icemud.
The spell's furious force
quickly crashed into me,
knocking me down and
I lost my breath.
I looked to where Wren was,
expecting a burnt corpse.
She still lived, unharmed
and defiant.
Another quickly drawn
symbol from magic wand
scooped air beneath the
dead wizard's feet.
Wren smirked as her spell threw
the man into the air,
past the Fierce River
and out of sight.
She said to us watching,
“The threat is now gone, our
foe has flown far, but
he may return.”
“Did the fall not kill him?”
the villagers asked Wren
Icemud, hero of
Fleagrass village.
“Total destruction of
the body is the sole
manner of killing
a Lich,” Wren said.
“What is a Lich?” I asked.
“A wielder of magic
that has lost their soul,”
Wren answered me.
“They are not just soil-folk.
A Lich retains their mind,
but can do no right.”
Wren continued.
“A Lich's deeds are not
guided by Fate like ours.
Their lives have ended,
but still they toil.”
“All that they try to do,
no matter the good will,
turns into fell and
foul, evil ends.”
I asked her, “How did you
withstand the Lich's fire?
You did not try to
block it or run.”
Wren chuckled and replied,
“In truth, I had no time
to react. The spell
struck so quickly.”
“I carry a charm that
protects me from burning.
It was mere luck that
he chose fire spells.”
“Follow me, Grub Cloudburst.
I must know whence the Lich
came and why. Tell me
all that occurred.”