A Bored Lich

Frey opened his eyes with a start, lept to his feet, and his hand flashed to his Kopis. He scanned the surroundings to discover himself in the chamber that the group had been resting in. The moss that had previously clung to the stone floor had been stomped flat from the group\'s constant sparring sessions, which had never been confined to the cracked stage. The giant light crystal overhead grew brighter with each passing second, indicating the sunrise, although not even a single ray of sunlight could be found this deep inside of the system of caves. Sitting in a circle at the center of the stage, were Elero, Thomas, and Doevm.

"Frey," Thomas turned away from the map that the three had been engrossed in. "Now that you are finally awake, can you please come over here and help me explain to them that we should only spar today. We have time. We don\'t have to hunt down Trak\'s group until tomorrow."

"Like I have been saying," Elero practically hissed. Thomas cast his head down. "Our spatial rings are full. There is no reason to be in these caves anymore. We are running out of venom antidotes. We can always spar later. On top of that…" She glanced down at Frey. "Frey and Doevm need this a lot more than us. They don\'t exactly have resources that we nobles are privy too."

Doevm nodded and his eyes wondered across the room, eventually settling on the dark corner which Frey stood in. "What do you think? Do you want to leave, spar, or attack Trak\'s group?" Thomas and Elero looked to Frey as well, their eyes filled with silent pleas.

\'They don\'t remember anything do they?\' Frey thought, his mind working through the events of the past few hours. Or at least, he hoped that it had only been a few hours. \'What\'s happening? Why do I remember it and they don\'t? I know Doevm. He wouldn\'t make a mistake like this unless maybe…Could he have planned it. I can never guess what he\'s thinking.\'

Elero waved a hand at him: "Leave him. He\'s probably tired after all the fighting he did today." The group, minus Frey, faced each other. "I still think he should get that spear." She pointed to the weapon lying on the ground next to Doevm.

"That is ok. I don\'t need it." Frey let out a nervous chuckle and stepped onto the stage, half expecting the spear to erupt with a red aura. When he sat down, he made sure to be as far from Doevm as possible.

When he saw the map, he creased his eyebrows. If the map only had a portion of the swamp before, now it had the majority. It had quick sketches: their old campsite in the north, the Bullfrogs\' hunting grounds at the center, the beginning area in the south, and the caves and many old, sunken structures in the west. Even though Frey could barely read what was written, he could still recognize Doevm\'s handwriting.

\'It is your choice,\' a voice rang in Frey\'s head, Doevm\'s voice. Frey scrunched his eyebrows. Doevm was staring right at him but his lips weren\'t moving. \'You can do what you want now. I won\'t stop you.\'

"But," Thomas argued with Elero. "If we can just get Frey a spear, we won\'t need the prize." Elero sighed and jabbed at the map. Whatever she said that made Thomas\'s face pale, Frey didn\'t hear any of it.

\'I won\'t stop you.\' Those words echoed in Frey\'s head louder than any bell and hammered in the fact that he had a decision to make. He glanced at the exit. \'Will he really let me go?\'

\'Yes.\'

\'Stop that,\' Frey thought. \'Stop playing with my mind.\' 

He got to his feet but Elero pulled him back down: "You\'re not going anywhere until you choose whether we\'re sparring or fighting. Before that, Thomas, you need to get into that thick skull of yours that-"

Frey sighed, feeling the grip tighten on his wrist. \'Doevm, are you still there?\' Doevm gave an ever so slight nod so the other two wouldn\'t notice, not that they could when they were furiously pointing at the map, crinkling it at certain places. \'You said you would tell me everything at the end of the day. Does that deal still stand?\' Doevm nodded again. \'Then, since you beat me, even if you cheated, the least I can do is wait until sunset.\' Before Doevm could let out a sigh of relief, Frey followed up with: \'But before that time comes, I won\'t trust a word you say.\' Doevm nodded. \'Now get out of my head.\' He felt a slight tingle at the front of his aching head and beads of sweat formed on Doevm\'s brow.

"And I told you already," Thomas was still arguing with Elero. "I would like not to risk my life over something physical like stinking carcasses!"

"Regardless," Frey cut off both of them. "We need to leave the caves. Sparring is something we can always do. Don\'t worry Thomas, you\'ll get your rematch." Thomas grimaced and Elero hid a smirk. Frey pointed to the caves on the map: "We have accomplished what we came here to do, right Doevm?" Doevm nodded. "By taking on Trak\'s group, we can get a lot of points and advance a lot quicker. I\'d like to get a new shield if I can." He took a moment, realizing that his shield now had a gaping hole near the top. \'That\'s right. It wasn\'t regenerating like usual. How did Doevm manage to break it?\'

"But you already have a good shield," Elero countered. "You\'re just not good at using it, not yet anyway. And it is a magic shield at that. If I were you, I\'d want a better spatial ring and armor."

"Well the thing about my shield is…" When Frey brought out his shield, his eyes went wide. He could see his own reflection in its smooth surface. He flipped it over to the back and found that the once fist-sized rune at the center had shrunk down to the size of his pinky.

"It looks ok to me," Doevm shrugged. "Maybe there is some kind of limit to its regenerative capabilities in a given amount of time. If you exceed the limit, the shield will break." He pointed to the rune on the shield. "As long as this rune is intact, I think that the shield will eventually piece itself back together."

"Where did you learn about that?" Thomas asked.

"I-"

"I read it in a book," Thomas patronized before sighing. "Sorry. I didn\'t sleep well, not to say that I have ever slept well since the moment we stepped into this swamp, but it feels like my entire body is aching. Can\'t we at least rest some more?"

Doevm shook his head: "I\'m sure it will go away when we start moving. Now. Since the majority of us are in agreement, it is time for the plan." Everyone except Frey leaned forward.

Doevm pointed to the map. "We don\'t know exactly where Trak\'s group is. Since the group is large however, it should be possible to track them down. We\'ve been to each of these parts of the swamp." He pointed to the north, west, and south. "We can cross those sections out. That leaves the corner areas."

"Wait a minute," Thomas butted in. "When we fought Trak\'s group, we were in the Bullfrogs\' hunting grounds. Won\'t they be around there?"

"True, but there are exceptions, like how we set up camp in the north but came down to the center to hunt. It\'s possible that they traveled to the center because they had a map detailing Bullfrogs and their weaknesses."

"We didn\'t find Trak\'s group in the center area. We fought them here." Elero pointed at the northwest part of the swamp. "Although now that I think about it, they could have been chasing the nobles like they said they were doing."

"I see," Doevm crossed out several areas that the group had been through. "Then we should just systematically check through the swamp starting with their hunting grounds, the center area. It\'s risky but I see no alternative. We can spend 5000 points on an item to track other groups but I feel like that\'s adding too much risk to the equation." He stroked his chin.

"What will we do when we find the base?" Elero asked. "Do we bomb the ever-living crap out of them, take what we can, and run?"

"Sounds like we\'re like those peasant raiders," Thomas muttered, staring the map. Elero\'s eyes widened for a second before narrowing on Thomas.

"That\'s exactly my plan," Doevm said before Elero could say anything. He pulled out all the bombs he had been constructing over the days and set them next to bunches of string and rope. "We will tie these bombs to projectiles and attack Trak\'s group from a range where they can\'t see us. Thomas, that\'s your job."

"Thank the goddess," Thomas lay on the ground. "I get the easy task."

Doevm nodded: "I figured you\'d like it. You are responsible for taking out every single guard you see. Just make sure none of the bombs go off before you\'ve thrown the spears."

Thomas sat up: "Wait what?"

Doevm turned to Elero: "While Thomas distracts, you and I will sack the other part of the base. Just take everything."

"And what do I do?" Frey asked.

"You\'re the key to everything," Doevm took out the last of the group\'s antidotes. "Even with antidotes, if a person gets too much venom in them, they\'ll pass out. Elero and I can\'t inhale much. You on the other hand, with your natural resistance and several antidotes, can move freely. You will scream your head off while you beat the crap out of everyone you see."

Frey raised an eyebrow: "Why am I screaming my head off?"

Doevm chuckled: "I want them to think that a creature is attacking them, not a coordinated group like us. If all goes well, we take everything and bolt for the mountains in the north," Doevm pointed to the line at the northern-most part of the map with "Academy" written next to it. "If we make it there, we win. We cash in our stolen points."

"But what if initiation isn\'t over by the time we get there?" Thomas asked.

"It doesn\'t matter," Doevm smiled. "The instructors said we had a week, and we could finish any time we wanted. If we aren\'t a part of initiation anymore, no one can steal our points. This is a risky dash and grab, nothing more, nothing less. That\'s just the kind of game this is. We\'ve gotten plenty strong. They\'ve taken prey from us, insulted us, and beaten us. Time to show them who they\'ve messed with."