Legendary Heroes Chapter 10 (Gauntlet: Dark Legacy)

Attention: Gauntlet Dark Legacy is the property of whomever owns the creative IP for it. The story is not official canon, but is based off the game.

Legendary Heroes

Chapter 10: The Brother's Curse (Audio)

Deep in the depths of the Mausoleum, the being that was now The Lich looked over the majority of the elders from The Forsaken Province. He could see the fear in all their eyes, and he knew why it was there. He had made sure when they were brought into the building, it was by way of all the corruption his evil had wrought on the place. Ghosts were running rampant in the building, and even the chapel area was no longer safe.

To the credit of their stupidity, the figure he had recognized as the village’s leader stepped forward, and almost bellowed, "How dare you think you can do this. Your mistress was cast out, and you will be without power soon. Even if you kill one of us, you will be destroyed by the rest.

The Lich inwardly chuckled, knowing that the leader was as stupid now, as he had been then. He would enjoy the scare he would give the old fool. He also glanced at the blade that was poised to come down. It was sharp and ready to taste living flesh.

He turned his attention to the town elders, and smiled what he knew would be a decaying smile. He took pleasure in seeing the fear on their faces. It would only increase when he told them the truth.

He picked up his axe, and pointed the tip towards the leader to deliver his point. "You truly are a fool. That whore wasn't my mistress, but the one capable of stopping me. " As he expected, a look of horror crossed all their faces.

One of the other elders, a woman, shouted, "The youngsters were right. We cast out the good person, not the evil one." He then saw the woman, and some of the others turn to run. He wasn't surprised by that since he had planned for it.

As some of those made it past the entrance to his inner sanctum, the blade finally came down. The Lich took delight as the blade cut a few of them in half. This caused the ones who remained to cower in fear, and the ones who had cleared the blade to run faster.

Those that had run, however, stopped when two of the Lich's minions appeared in their path. The one had been a golem, made of the dead trees that now populated the province. The other one was one of Skorne's pets, a serpent headed gargoyle. While the golem grabbed some of the runners, the gargoyle sprayed the area with a greenish mist.

The Lich watched in delight as the mist hit the runners the golem didn't grab, and dissolved their flesh. The screams of pain from the dying gave him strength, and using it, he bound the spirits to his power. In moments, their spirits were brought into the fold of evil ghosts at his command.

He waited as the golem brought the remainder back to him, and then returned his attention to the leader of the Forsaken Province. He smiled a rotting smile at the coward, and brought out his axe. He spun it in the air, all the time looking at the man. "At least you get to be the first of my generals."

He swung the blade of the axe down, and he hit his mark. The blade cut right thought the man, and the Lich felt the soul of the man get sucked into him. The body withered, but as the Lich removed the axe, the body appeared whole. That was because the blade was mystical, and cut physically only when the Lich wanted it to.

Once the blade was out, one of the strongest ghosts came over, and slipped right into the body. This had the effect of adding unnatural bulk and height to the corpse. The clothing material moved over the head, looking similar to an executioner's mask. The image was perfect in the Lich's mind. He then turned his attention to the next surviving town elder as his new general got a Scythe.

He was in the middle of making his second general when a demonic image appeared in the air. While the face was hidden by a golden mask, the Lich felt the ethereal presence of Skorne. He paused in his current task, and turned to face the image. "Skorne, you have returned."

He bowwed a little, as the demonic image regarded him with a nod of approval. "Yes, thanks to the foolishness of Sumner's little brother. It was almost not to be, as the brother was almost capable of taking my power." That bit of news was a bit troubling. Was Skorne weak after all those years away?

The Lich looked over at his new general, and then back to Skorne's image. He had to wonder how much was in place at the moment. "I hope that hasn't stopped the others from returning. It took me time to find the right host." It was true. It took him ages to find the right form, and it had been descended from the one who beat him last time.

Skorne responded to the statement with a sound of approval. "Indeed you have, but your host's sister has made her way to Sumner's tower. Are you prepared to stop her?"

The Lich nodded, and gestured to his new general. "I'm in the process of making more generals. I have even summoned forth some golems to ambush the stragglers. Some of the gargoyles based off the Chimera are also with me."

This, he noticed, made Skorne happy. The demonic entity nodded, and soon, two gray stones appeared. They each had a yellow rune on them. The Lich realized what they were right away. "I want you to make sure these two stones are hidden. Make sure you don't hide them near where ever you hid the Book of Protection."

That statement brought a chuckle to the Lich's decayed mouth. "No need to worry about that. I managed to have one of my minions get it up to the Sky Dominion. The only way my host's sister can get that item is if she can get up there." There was only one place to access the skies, and that was the Spire that marked the entry point to the Sky Dominion.

Skorne let out a happy demonic laugh, and The Lich was pleased to hear that. He then paused as a ghost came into the lair. The spirit managed to hold onto a parchment in its hands. The Lich studied it from a distance, not daring touch it since it was surrounded by a flame of some sorts.

It took him a moment to realize what he was looking at, and he smiled before speaking. “So now I have Tahranna's Fire. Very well, place it on one of the statues in the fountain. They won’t even think to look at it.” He saw the ghost nod, and then venture out, most likely to pass the task onto one of the zombies.

He looked back at the Runestones, and then called the ghost back. “Wait a moment.” He motioned to the one, and said, “Take this stone, and hide it in the mausoleum.” He then took the scroll, and handed it to his newly formed general. The creature took it, and the Lich motioned to the other Runestone. “Take that scroll to where I told the ghost before, and then hide this stone somewhere else.” When the hooded figure nodded, the Lich turned back to Skorne’s image. “There, my lord. The items should be hidden away. This world will be corrupted into the image you want it in.”

There was a nod of approval from Skorne again, and then the image disappeared. The Lich turned back to the townspeople that he had left in his lair, and smiled one of his rotted smiles at them. “Who’s to be my next general?” While most shook their heads, he let out a wicked laugh. “Like you really have a choice at all?” With that, he swung his axe again, taking the soul of another town elder. The second age of Skorne was now underway.