Wail

We take Eresh's warnings to heart, and we don't loot the third level, but instead proceed to the fourth, taking precautions in case a Lich is waiting for us up there.

The spell that the Lichs use to control people requires a saving-throw based on Harmony, which leaves Lynesse and Vladimir vulnerable because of their average scores, and it puts Bronte at high risk because of her abysmal score of 4. To mitigate the danger of their being turned against the party, the rest of us place their weapons in our inventory.

The precaution isn't foolproof. Lynesse still has her spells, and the others can still do damage with fists and kicks. Not to mention, they might luck out on their rolls, and we could flub ours, leaving them unarmed and relatively defenseless. But we aren't able to come up with any better plan.

Morgan had thought about blocking up all our ears, so we couldn't hear the commands. But some research in the system revealed the spell has nothing to do with the words or sounds, so much as the Lich's intent. So, taking away weapons was our best shot.

No one talked about the fact that our measures would in no way keep any of us from dying at the... er... hands of a Lich. Although, we are all very much thinking about it as we climb the stairs. 

Having faced two very similar situations already and fully expecting to face it again, when we encounter a new Lich in the hub room, there is no sense of surprise, however this creature immediately fills us with horror. 

It's taller than the previous ones and more skeletal. Lanky and thin with knobby joints. Its ribs show through its dead skin and there is little sense of breasts. This leaves the top of her bright scarlet-red dress drooping and sagging down in front. The face is broad and gray, and it's missing a tooth beside the top incisor. Its hair is gray and scraggly and only starts halfway back on its scalp.

Detect

informs me that it's level 9 and this drives the terror in deeper. This is the highest level foe we've ever faced.

Instead of making a throne of bones, it uses a stone chair and has set up the skeletons of the dead around it in positions of supplication.

Astra looses an arrow and Lynesse fires her missiles before it can say anything, but the attack does little against it. I'm sprinting to close the distance, which feels all sorts of wrong. I should be running away from it not toward it. I have to dodge around the skeletons. There are dozens of them and each can be brought to life by the Lich to come to it's aid.

But its not the only one with that power. I spot two with vestiges of armor and swords at their side. I raise them and send them against the monster.

"How dare you!" it says, absorbing another volley of ranged attacks. "I was the king of Fellatia! You should bow before me!" 

I'm not sure if I should be happy that its running its mouth instead of trying to control us. On one hand, we're getting more attacks in. On the other, they're weak attacks and we can't arm our compatriots until we know how the saving throws will go.

"I will break you and enslave you for all eternity for this outrage!"

I skid to a stop in front of it but off to the side to give our Astra and lynesse a clear shot. I begin my Dance of Death.

"Fools! OBEY me!"

With my heightened Harmony score I have no problem resisting, but I watch as I twirl and spin to see who it snags.

"I'm okay!" Bronte screams. "Quick! My Sword!"

At the same moment, my skeletons clash with the Lich.

It seems unconcerned by them and raises four more of the undead. They immediately spring up and attack mine, two on each.

Next, it simply points at Lynesse. Flesh missiles begin slapping into me. So, I guess she was caught by its spell.

Visually her missiles always just looked like they dissolved on contact, but being on the receiving end, I feel the warm hard skin bounce against my bare back, then ooze like a thick viscous fluid down my flesh until the vanish into the air. It's highly unsettling and distracting. I come close to flubbing my spell.

But luckily they don't last long. Morgan's finicky spell to remove curses manages to work on her. The first time it ever has.

However, in case things are beginning to feel too easy, the Lich summons four of its pets. Two go for me, one attacks Bronte, and the last staggers over to where the others are. But the bastard isn't satisfy with that. It raises a hand toward me and a blast of cold hits my chest, ripping a third of my health away.

As if to give the monster a slap in the face for this brutal attack, my next flourish of the dance cuts the number of his skeleton and pet minions in half.

With my new skill level and Eresh's bonuses, my spells are devastating against these lower level monster. Although, they're doing little against the Lich itself.

Vladimir charges in and he, Bronte, and one of my skeletons are wailing on it with swords, but the Lich king reacts to them as though they are no more than gnats causing a nuisance. It sends another blast of cold my way, spiraling my health downward. I reach for its outstretched hand and grab it in both of mine. I double-cast and suck the same amount life out of him, if not more.

Now, he's taking the fight seriously. He throws his head back howling in pain and anger, then lashes out with his other arm, slashing all his attackers with viscous black claws. But I hold on until my Life Energy is full again.

The last of his skeletons are defeated right about the time my animation spell wears off and my two puppets collapse into bones and dust. We both raise more. The battlefield is crowded again.

My magic pool depletes and I have to waste a round drinking a potion, but the tide has turned. The Lich is hurting. Skin is sloughing of its bones where the attacks have cut through. He screams out, "SUBMIT!" and through some miracle, we all pass our saving-throws. The creature staggers back as though struck harder than any of the sword thrusts he's brushed off. I realize this obedience command must take a lot out of the creature, which is probably why they're not just spamming it until they enslave everyone.

Its Lich-pets and skeletons get picked off, and he doesn't raise more. He only slashes out at us with his claws as we chip away at his remaining life. His magic must me spent. It's a death of a thousand-cuts, slow and tiring. In the end, it's Vladimir who strikes the killing blow, and the fiend finally disintegrates.

Bronte wipes her brow. "I'm starting to think this scepter isn't worth this."

Picking up a gold coin, Astra says, "We're getting close. This is about a hundred years more recent than the ones on the first level. Can't be many more levels until we reach it."

"I'm not sure we can take any more," Vladimir says. He's pessimistic despite his victory. And I don't blame him. The triple whammy of high defense against physical attacks, high defense against magical attacks, and the ability to turn team members makes these creatures absolutely horrible to face.

He continues, while kicking at some of the horded jewelry, "We could probably cut and run at this point. With all of this treasure, who cares about the reward to retrieve the scepter?"

"Are you kidding me!" Morgan exclaims. "You want to quit now?!?"

Astra steps in, "We're not quitting. We can't. The game isn't going to allow it. Do you think we're getting out the way we came? If the passage between the crypt and the caves hasn't caved in by now, we actually stood there and watched the passage to the Highwayman cave seal behind us when we entered the dungeon. The only way out is forward. Now, lets finish searching this level and get moving!"

Gathering up the loot, I remark, "Do you think Lady Givinghead is going to be pissed at us for robbing the graves of her ancestors?"

 Morgan replies, "It wouldn't matter in the old game. Things were very compartmentalized. You could walk around wearing the recently stolen crown jewels and no one would wonder where you got them."

Bronte says, "Well, this is hardly the same game."

"Loot is loot. It's compensation for fighting such powerful monsters. You want to leave yours behind, be my guest."

In the pile of valuables around the Lich's throne, we come across two equipable items. The first is a light-plate bra or bikini top that has a chainmail base and small steel scales covering the cups. Bronte takes it to replace her leather bra. The other is a high tier purple thong. It's a dark plum shade, and it's suggested I use it since it doesn't fall in my "vibrant color" restriction. I offer it to Astra, but she can only wear what the system terms natural colors: browns, greens, yellows, and monochromes. 

I reluctantly agree and slip it on. It feels strange having something on down there. I'd really gotten used to the freedom. I notice to that the extra garment lowers my spell-casting rating, and I almost use that as an excuse to reject it. But I become a bit shocked at myself for wanting to keep going bare, so I keep it on.

After working out the loot, we make a cursory search of the tombs to ensure we haven't missed anything. The last room we enter is the king's tomb—it's obviously the king's because its the most ostentatious one we've come across. It does make me wonder how the king turned into a Lich. Also, was the king a cross-dresser when he was alive or is that something that happened when he turned? I shake the strange thoughts from my head. It's probably just Katie throwing weird stuff at us.

There's not a whole lot of clues to his lifestyle in the wall carvings, they mostly depict scenes of a long war. Although, the armies of skeletons do hint that they'd be fighting forces of the undead. So, it's easy to speculate that the king contracted the Lich corruption in battle.

"Hey! Over here!" Vladimir calls to us. When we reach him, he's examining a bas-relief of a tall hill with a man wearing a crown and wielding a sword surrounded by armored soldiers. A robed man stands next to the king holding out an orb that seems to emit rays of some sort. Shapeless figures assail the hill. Someone has rubbed a greasy black dye carefully into each figure, giving an ominous feel to the scene and sense of doom for the besieged army. If I had to guess, it's a depiction of the king's last stand.

"This panel moves," he explains. "Or it should move. I haven't tried yet. The system is telling me it's trapped."

Astra asks, "Can you disarm it?"

"Maybe. But it's pretty high level. Everyone should stand back. Although, Morgan, have a healing spell ready." He rubs his hands as though trying to work some warmth into them.

"If I do this..." He uses a small tool to work something at the base of the carved hill. "Aha! Success—No wait! It's still trapped. There must be another." He scrutinizes every inch of it, scratches his head, then starts looking at the areas on either side of it. "There! Tricky. There must be a mechanism running through the wall to trigger it." Even from across the room, I can hear him gulp and hold a breath as he tries to disarm it. "Two down, but the damn thing is still showing trapped." Now, he takes his time going over the panel again, then the entire wall, and the floor in front of it. Finally, he stops at the column opposite the panel. "They sure didn't want anyone getting in here." After a minute, he lets out a sigh of relief, walks over to the panel, and clicks on the robed figure's head. A four-foot wide by eight-foot high section of the wall pops open.

Vladimir yanks it into the room, revealing a dark passageway. "So, let's see what they're hiding."