PreCursive

  “Oh…,” Tzo said, visibly enraptured. “I had absolutely no idea that suterestis had been on the surface.”

  It hadn’t taken the apparently supremely skilled surgeon long to do all he could for Hook. Once he’d finished plug out bone shards from the dwarf’s abdomeing his arm with a splint, and sewing him back closed, he presehe dwarf with a healing potion. After eyeing it suspiciously for a moment, Hook had thrown it back with a grimace. Acc to Tzo, it was a regeion potion of his own co that would cause his wounds to mostly heal within the few hours.

  I’d actually been brave enough to ask the Lich for the recipe for the potion. Most healing potions weren’t strong enough to pletely heal plex internal injuries like that. You had to rely on Healers like Honoka and Renauld instead.

  Tzo had chuckled, scribbled it down on a piece of part, and given it to me with his blessing. Afterward, the five of us moved over to sit at a small table in the er of his b. There, one of his Orcish undead ‘assisstants’ had brought out tea of all things for us to share.

  I…actually liked it. The leaf juice may have been prepared by a zombie, but it holy wasn’t bad.

  I was the only one who ended up toug the provided tea.

  I didn’t bme the others for n it. Nor did Tzo, apparently. He just kept questioning Sylvia about the Sculpted, totally unfazed by the way Hook and Sylvia had politely tur down. Meanwhile, Dusk wasn’t even sitting at the table with us. The Gnoll woman was leaning against the wall and watg the odd versation in sileill suspicious of the Lich.

  Said Lich ughed out loud delightedly. He actually spped one of his bony knees, from his spot in the chair he had stopped floating over to fully sit in. “I had no idea old Grey had it in him!” He crowed. “Creating airely new race, fully ied into the System! Marvellous! Simply marvellous!”

  I set down my cup of tea to give Tzo an incredulous look. “How did you not know? There was a System notification and everything! They even call it the Sed Initialization!”

  If possible, I think Tzo’s delight intensified. “A System notification!” He banged one bony palm down oable, causing his cup of untouched tea to roll off the table and shatter oone below. He paused, and then shrugged. “Ah, how truly regretful that I missed it. Unfortunately, as a dead man, I no longer possess my Status and thus never saw this notification. Such a gift is intended only for the living, you see.”

  Oh. So this guy didn’t even have a Status anymore.

  I don’t think that made him any less dangerous, though. There was a feeling io the Lich that I’d only ever felt from Grey, Honoka, and to a lesser extent, Leonard Ashran.

  I bli the Lich’s obvious glee a. I wasn’t the only one, as Sylvia spoke again after finishing her expnation. “Ah…do you perhaps…know my father, Sir Tzo?”

  I didn’t bme her for the doubt in her voice, but…

  Holy, I wouldn’t put it past Grey at this point.

  I roven right momentarily.

  “Ah? Yes, we’re acquainted,” Tzo answered idly, calming down. The jaws of his odd bear skull ccked and shifted against each other, almost as if he was trying to smile. “You could even say we were colleagues, once upon a time. Your ‘Father’ and I were both appreo the same master, you see. A very long, long time ago.”

  I felt a bolt nition shoot down my spihe same master? The person that had died all those years ago against the Camity Grey had referred to as the ‘Sea Beast’?

  Sylvia’s lips parted, obviously reizing the same thing. A tentative smile crossed her lips. “I didn’t know Father had any fellorentices all those years ago. He’s never spoken of you. I…thought the only person from that time still around was Honoka.”

  “Mmm, I’m unsurprised that old bat is still kig,” Tzo said, unfazed by Sylvia’s questioning. “But yes, your Father and I knew each other quite well for a time. I was even one of the first people he tapped to be Professors after he took the post of Headmaster. My my, I haven’t thought of those years in ages.”

  Hook visibly startled, and if he’d tried the tea, I think he would have choked on it. Instead, a hag cough exited his mouth as he shot the li incredulous look. “I…think I know who you are! I thought you were,” Here he paused before tinuing sheepishly. “…dead.”

  “Oh, I’m quite, quite dead Mr. Hook,” Tzo said, voice as dry as his bones. “It just didn’t stick, as you see. However,” He fixed Hook with a suddenly inteare. “I will ask that you not spread news of my…‘survival’, so to speak. That man is long dead, and I am what remains.”

  Hook didn’t let the ensuing tense sileher him. “Oh, I don’t io,” He said shaking his head, suddenly much more respectful. “I was just about to say, if you’re who I think you are, then you’re not an unlised Neahose lises doly expire. Just…pse. I get yours updated for you if you want. Sir.”

  I shuddered at the pletely out-of-character admiration in Hook’s voice. I swear to God, it was as if the dwarf was suddenly deep into hero worship for the bag of bones sitting at the table with us.

  I think Tzo was taken aback by it as well. “Ah…” He said slowly. “That won’t be needed. I have no iion of returning to my former practice withial. You see, as we’re currently iomb owned by the Empire of Xilo, I do not require my lise. Furthermore, I am actually here with Orcish approval.”

  “Really?” I asked, ied. “So, they know you’re down here?”

  “Indeed,” Tzo said, nodding. “In fact, I’m currently under tract with the city of Ttec. Oh yes,” He ughed at our shocked expressions. “I’m a bonafied civil servant!”

  I wi the pun.

  So.

  He was like that.

  “You see, this mausoleum colpsed in on itself some fifty years ago, to the dismay of the Ttec officials,” Tzo said, adopting a lecturing tone. Now that he was getting in on it, I could easily see how this guy had been a Professor. “The cause was determio be simple age and . The amount of bodies stored inside was too great for the lower levels to withstand. It crumbled uhe weight into these tunnels below. At the time, I was searg for a new nexus of deathly Aether to tinue my research, as my previous abode had been exhausted. I heard from the, ah, let us say ‘grapevihat the Empire was searg for a specialist to employ in handling the resultiless dead. The bureaucra Indiqua was unwilling to send out one of their own neao such a backwater, you see. Thus, I put forth my bid, and was thus gratefully tracted by the city of Ttec to restruct the mausoleum. Iime, of course. My payment es in the form of siphonihly Aether from my new assistants.” He finished by nodding at an approag undead Orc carrying a broom. “And I io extract every. Last. Drop. That I , from the interred here.”

  We watched in stunned silence as the zombie swept up the shattered remnants of Tzo’s teacup into a dustbin. When it was do shuffled away, having pleted its task in total silence.

  I cut my eyes over to Hook when it was gone, desperate for something to get us out of this odd situation. I didn’t know how much longer I could take ludicrous sights like that before I started ughing like a madman.

  Thankfully, he bailed me out.

  Hook stood up from his chair with a wince. “Well, thank you for your hospitality, Sir Tzo,” He said hoarsely, doing his best to smile. It came out more like a grimace. “But we o get moving. I’m afraid we have business iies above. If you could direct us to the passageway into Ttec…? I’m afraid I don’t reize the path, after the colpse.”

  Tzo refocused on us, reizing the hint when it was dropped. He floated to his feet gracefully, nodding. “Of course, of course,” He said graciously. “I shall have one of my assistants lead you to the stairway. I must return to my resear any case. Do give my regards to your Father whe you see him, young dy.” He fialking to Sylvia.

  “Ah…of course, Sir Tzo,” Sylvia said hesitatingly. “I will…pass along your words. Who shall I say they are from?”

  Tzo paused for a moment, obviously remembering that he had given us a false name. “Oh yes,” He said, tapping a bony digit on the surface of his . “Tell him it’s from the Pigsnatcher!” He finally cackled. “He’ll get the referehen!” Still chug, Tzo made a gesture with one of his left arms. Moments ter, one of his Orcish assistants shuffled its way over to us. The undead servant didn’t even look our way before passing roup and walking off into the darkness beyond Tzo’s strange green mps.

  Exging a gh the rest of the group, we followed after the uhat was supposed to be leading us out of here. After a short walk in total silehe undead led us te circur door set into the far wall of the cavern. This, at least, was more familiar than the Lich’s odd boratory. The door was obviously carved in a simir style to the stonework I’d seen both on the walls of Tted the upper reaches of the mausoleum above.

  The undead id one limp palm on the door, causing ruhat had previously been hidden in the darko light up with oddly red-colored Mana. Seds ter, the door rolled to the side, exposing a long, drafty corridor.

  Hook nodded in relief at the sight of it. I guess he reized this as the batrao Ttec. We stepped forward, but were stopped oher side of the door.

  “Oh, and as a courtesy to the daughter of an old friend, I’ll say this,” Tzo’s voice said, eg out of the darkness as if he was standing just outside of the door. But he wasn’t there.

  Only darkness filled the space the voice came from.

  “I may not have known about your war, but I did know something was going on,” The Lich tinued. “I was, quite surprisingly, approached by something truly extraordinary during my years of bor and research. They wished to enlist my aid in a little scheme of theirs. However, they were a bit too…” Tzo paused for a fra of a sed before tinuing. “Bloodthirsty, for my tastes. I politely turhem down. I will not his person, as I quite emphatically do not need any more enemies. But I will say this much. Do be careful, children. I believe there to be something…deeper to your little spat thahe eye. Take care now. Toodles.” With the neancer’s bizarrely cheerful warning eg in our ears, the door to the Lich’s cavern slid closed once more before we could eveion him.

  Leaving us to stand in momentary darkness, before it ierced by the light of illuminating Skills reigniting.

  Now I could see the stunned expressions on everyone else's faces from the out-of-the-blue portent. I’m sure I looked the same to them.

  I broke the silen the tunnel. “What the fuck?”

  “I…don’t know,” Hook said, looking lost. “I have no idea what he’s talking about. It’s like he’s implying there’s another factor to the war we don’t know about.”

  “What could he possibly mean by deeper?” Sylvia asked quietly. To that, nobody had an answer.

  Hook shook his head vigorously, wing after he did so. “We’ll look into it ter. Right now, I want to get out of this damn hellhole.”

  With that, we set off dowunnel. I don’t know about everyone else, but I was definitely still thinking about the odd enter with the Lich there at the end. Tzo hadn’t struck me as the kind of person to speak without reason to, so I was disined to disregard his words.

  I couldn’t do anything about it right now, though, so I pushed it aside.

  Right now, we had to get out of here.

  ………………………………..

  It only took us about another fifteen minutes of walking in sileo reach a spiral staircase at the end of the path. I couldn’t help a sense of relief from rolling over me at the sight, and I don’t think I was the only one. I heard more than one slight sigh of relief now that our way out was before us.

  That probably led to us not being as cautious as we should’ve been, as we climbed the stairs. They were quite long, costing us aen minutes of effort to reach the door at the end. That didn’t surprise me, though. The level that Tzo’s boratory had been on was quite far beh the surface of Vereden. Around the edges of the strangely mundane door that we eventually reached, I could see glorious, beautiful sunlight. It looked to be fading, however. We had inally ehe crypt very early in the m, so we must have spent upwards of ten hours in that tomb.

  Hook had the lo the door open in seds. Keeping one hand on the door, he turo look at us and nodded. Dusk, Sylvia, and I retur. The dwarf turned back to the door and slowly, slowly cracked it open to look outside.

  He have bothered being so stealthy.

  Heavily armored, sausage-thick fingers slipped into the crack that Hook had opened in the door. In moments, it had been wrenched open to reveal an absolutely massive grey-skinned figure wielding a greatsword hewn from what looked to be obsidian.

  Hook stilled when the razor-sharp bde of the sword touched his throat.

  “You’re under arrest,” The rowled at us.