A Bored Lich

Pale moonlight emanating from a fractured moon found purchase on dry tree bark, which over the brunt of winter, steadily grew outwards with early developed leaf buds hidden beneath. The branch's shadow cloaked the head of a former Lich, now within the vessel of a fifteen year old boy, who would often sneak out of the Virility manor to secretly cultivate his mana. Doevm relaxed against the trunk as if the lonely shade was a second home to him, a place to sort his thoughts.

His calm, however, was interrupted by a pair of approaching footsteps. 'No one's usually up this late,' he thought. He creaked an eye open and at the base of the hill was Jameson, his well-trained form standing tall under the star-scape.

He had gotten a few more gray hairs since Doevm had seen him last, but his posture, like his light layer of facial hair, never slackened, making it nearly impossible to catch him off guard. His emotionless expression matched Doevm's.

"How did you know to find me here?" Doevm asked. 'Can you not see that I am busy?'

Jameson snorted. "Really? You come here like clockwork."

"Routines are calming," Doevm explained, shutting his eyes.

Jameson pulled a collection of papers out of his spatial ring and tossed them at Doevm's feet. "Son, you'll just have to excuse my rudeness just this once. We need to talk."

Doevm sighed and picked up the papers, his eyes widening ever so slightly as he read the date and title. "This isn't from…"

"Draken Capital," Jameson explained. "It's a very interesting report. How you manage to persuade those geezers is beyond me, but you made an impact. Here's one of the ripples."

'It even has our faces,' Doevm thought.

"Dark magic?" Jameson said. "How in the hell did a fifteen year old boy learn all this? Rena was no mage, and the only thing Hank could make disappear was alcohol. Just who in the world are you?"

'I'm sorry, but I don't have the time for you or your precious Lord Virility butting in,' Doevm thought, narrowing his eyes. "And did you start caring about this before or after the lord was poisoned, father?"

Jameson didn't even blink. "Really? That's how you're going to play this? Like it or not, Doevm, your actions affected other people today. Your actions drew out a man who had spent years blending into the manor. Why else would a War Monk attack Lord Virility, if not to make an example?"

Doevm scowled, deciding not to correct his misunderstanding. "Nothing's ever simple, especially with change." His eyes went left to right, skimming through the last of the report. 'I didn't expect information to be this thorough, nor this fast. After a hundred years since my reincarnation, times have changed. I'm running out of time.'

Jameson must have noticed Doevm's frustration because, instead of cursing or threatening, the tension faded from his shoulders. He sat on the other side of the tree and stared off at the town, distant torchlight from wandering mercenary groups reflecting in eyes that had seen much pain and suffering in the world. "You always have a plan, Doevm, and I know you're not stupid. You couldn't have at least given us a heads up?"

Doevm set the report down and let out a long sigh. "The situation was handled, was it not?"

"Aye, this single situation was handled. Luckily, losses were minimal. Do you believe in luck, Doevm?"

"I can handle it."

Jameson nodded. "I helped train you for a long time, Doevm. This is the first time I haven't heard a logical explanation."

"Who says I don't have one?" Doevm asked, while estimating how fast he could get everyone out of town.

Jameson chuckled. "Who says I care?"

Doevm paused. "You're not here on behalf of Lord Virility?"

"Lord Virility has yet to see this report," Jameson explained. "I've been acting in his steed, remember? If I wasn't so damned sloppy, he might not have a mountain of papers to go through before he finally does see it. I imagine he'll see it in…let's say a few days."

Doevm couldn't stop a sly smile from forming, feeling the weight of the bags under his eyes lessen. "Thank you."

Jameson snatched the papers up and turned to walk off. "I don't want to know where you're going, nor when you leave. I don't want any hints if he orders me to track you down. Just don't die, Doevm, or whatever all this is for, will be for naught."

Doevm nodded. "Good night, father."

"Good luck, son. Get some rest. You look like you need it." He said before vanishing in a puff of golden life essence.

Doevm swallowed his saliva. 'Even at the copper life essence level, I still can't see his movements,' he thought, his eyes sparkling with mana. 'I'll need every last drop of mana. I made myself known. I stepped into the light.'

The night prior…

"There's a target on our backs now, isn't there?" Thomas asked as he stood next to Doevm, both of them staring at the traitorous War Monk Owen. The stench of death almost radiated from his terrified expression, forever-open eyes staring out lifelessly into the forest.

Doevm nodded. "Feel the radiant energy lingering in the air; How it makes your hair stand on end? It's as if it rejects our very existence, and now there's no hiding anymore."

Thomas shrugged. "But Frey and Olpi beat him, so what's so bad about this, apart from Frey's abducted family? My father is recovering. The plot has been foiled."

"A plot has failed, this is true. A single plot formed by a single man, which nearly killed three of us."

Thomas shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Is he alive?"

"Not right now," Doevm said as he dragged a heat spell along the outside of Owen's frozen form. "Could you grab those manacles?"

Thomas raised his eyebrows. "We're going to manacle a corpse? I don't understand."

"We can bring him back," Doevm explained, then yawned. "And then, we can question him, but that will be for tomorrow."

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