“He was what?” – Raminus Polus looked at Lena in disgust and disbelief when she told him that Hannibal Traven turned out to be a living lich. “I knew that Mannimarco was a lich of some sort, and in cohorts with Molag Bal, but Arch Mage Traven… Although it does make sense and explains a lot… especially since he changed his mind about Necromancy… yeah…” – Raminus shook his head and sighed. “Still, he did what he thought was best” – he smiled at Lena. “He wasn’t evil.”

“Oh no, he sought to protect us” – Lena agreed. “It’s just… it would have been better to step lightly.”

“And Caranya…” – Raminus looked surprised again. “Appeared just as the Arch Mage was slain, you say? And attacked Mannimarco?”

“That she did – she must have been watching” – Lena nodded. “I wonder if she would have done the same if the duel had gone the other way. Perhaps she thought the best way to restore peace was to kill both of them.”

“She might have done, you know” – Raminus agreed. “Was she wearing the Necromancer’s Amulet? She took it, after all.”

“No, she wasn’t wearing it” – Lena was trying to remember the details. “I think she simply wanted to keep it away from either of them.”

“Quite possible. What is she going to do now?”

“She didn’t say. I wouldn’t be surprised if she returned here to talk to you.”

“Oh, she’d be welcome to” – Raminus beamed. “Tell her, if you ever see her, please. The Council is all but destroyed, and we need to re-establish it, and I doubt many of the Wizards knew about Arch Mage’s lichdom… I still call him Arch Mage… but of course we haven’t got one now” – he shook his head. “But that’s why we need the Council back, then we can elect a new Arch Mage, with all that we know now. And we’ll need to decide what we are going to do about Necromancy.”

“Necromancy as well as the other schools that Hannibal Traven had cut” – Lena reminded him. “Such as Conjuration, Illusion and Mysticism.”

“Mysticism?” – Raminus raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t know?” – it was Lena’s turn to be surprised. “Detect Life, Soul Trap and Spell Absorption all come from Necromancy or are linked to it, and are therefore banned, and with Levitation and Teleportation already banned previously, they are hardly left with anything.”

“True” – Raminus nodded. “I haven’t thought of that. I did know about the bans, of course, just never stopped to think what was actually left…” – he sighed. “I’ll write to all the Wizards in the Guild and invite them here so we could elect a new Council and a new Arch Mage.” He paused, looking at Lena. “You are not a Wizard – yet. But you must be, with all that you’ve done and with all that you know. Please, accept this promotion.”

“I…” – Lena hesitated. “Raminus, I couldn’t. Thank you – but no. I feel that my previous promotions were undeserved – I am not as powerful a mage as these titles might suggest. Warlock is more than enough as it is.”

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but I see where you are coming from” – Raminus nodded. “And of course this keeps you out of Mages Guild politics” – he winked. “Well, have it your way, Warlock.”

Lena thanked him again and left – she wanted to look into the matter of the Old Crow Inn since she was in the vicinity and on her own, and it seemed to be a job for an assassin.

17 Last Seed

“So, he is dead, and his lover too!” – Ladonna at the Old Crow Inn was extatic. “And I see you’ve got his journal and his bow as proof!” Lena thought that although Ladonna had not asked for anything in particular as proof, it was still best to bring something along. “Here is some coin for your efforts – I trust this is the correct fee?” – Ladonna raised her eyes at Lena handing over a hefty purse. “I should have performed the Sacrament, I know, and I was going to, but then I saw you come in, and, well… I was right, wasn’t I? You are a professional.” She looked pleased with herself.

“It’s fine, but next time please go through the official channels” – Lena smiled at her. “Saves me the paperwork” – she winked.

“Oh I understand – so tedious!” – Ladonna looked sympathetic. “Here is a key to the cellar – it is quite cozy in there, please make yourself at home. For the paperwork” – she smiled.

Lena smiled at her, took the key and went to look at the cellar. It was getting quite late and she could use a meal and good rest.

The cellar was indeed quite comfortable, with much better furnishings than elsewhere in the inn, and certainly with a much better bed than the ones that Ladonna was renting out.

The lower level of the cellar was a bit odd though – someone had been breaking through walls and digging tunnels into nowhere… Oh wait – one tunnel ended in a door! Locked, and even Nocturnal’s skeleton key could not unlock it. “Damn it” – thought Lena, deciding to leave further investigation for tomorrow.

She went back upstairs and got into that very comfortable bed, looking for something to read… “Oh – what’s this?” – the book on the bedside table turned out to be a journal. “Yes, this explains the digging and the furniture. And may be there’s a clue about the key…” – thought Lena deciphering elaborate handwriting. But it was already past midnight, and her eyelids would not stay up, certainly not after all the food and the mead she consumed just before… This was definitely a matter for tomorrow.

18 Last Seed

Ladonna told Lena that the man who rented the cellar previously – Corthio – had a shop in the Imperial City, and Lena decided to stop by.

It was a small shop set into the back wall, and the door was locked, with grass and mushrooms growing on the doorstep. “It doesn’t look to have seen much use, at least not recently” – Lena thought with a sinking feeling. This wasn’t a good sign. She unlocked the door with a spell and entered.

The house was very dimly lit – someone had put out the lights. The downstairs was set up as a shop with many rare and valuable items on display, but a layer of dust was covering it all. “Not good” – Lena thought again.

The basement didn’t have anything special, so Lena went upstairs. And there… yes, you could say she found who she was looking for – Corthio, or rather his rotting corpse. He’d been dead for some time.

“Well, he and you have a lot in common” – a stranger entered the room. “Neither of you respect locks.”

“Is that why you killed him?” – Lena turned to the stranger, recognising him as the man she met at the Old Crow Inn.

“Yes, he wanted the artefact from the tomb that is below the Old Crow Inn, and we cannot allow that. People must respect locks” – he lectured Lena.

“What are you – the City Watch?” – she snapped at him. “Or are you hoping to kill me too?”

“Oh, that will depend entirely on you” – he smiled pleasantly. “Leave the tomb alone, and you’ll live. But know that we are watching your every move.”

And with that he turned around and left.

“Well, I doubt very much that you’re watching my every move” – thought Lena. “You are wasting away drinking in the inn day and night, watching the tomb entrance in the basement. If you ask me, you’d be better off blocking it and removing the key. Speaking of which…”

She looked around Corthio’s room and eventually found it. She did not want the artefact from the tomb, but she did not need people watching “her every move”, and she was undecided what to do. Leaving the key in late Corthio’s house wasn’t doing anyone any favours though. “I should discuss it with Hauk” – she thought, on her way to his house. She had a lot to tell him – about the events in the Echo Cave, living liches, and now also this strange Order of Guardians. But perhaps what she really needed to take her mind off things was a good old adventure.