Rune Seeker

Yanily’s Skyfall echoed with a peal of titanic thunder as his spear drove into the upturned face of the Death Knight, the sheer weight of his strike slamming the Mid-Boss back and to the ground. Another shockwave threw dirt and stones in every direction, while hungry lightning slipped inside the armor and ravaged whatever it found.

The spearman, now standing on the vassal’s chest, leaned on his spear and pulsed with solar energy. From that range—and with the spear inside its head—the Death Knight had no way to block or dodge the Chain Lightning+. More, powerful arcs of lightning tore through the Mid-Boss, its body convulsing on the ground as small eruptions blew out between the joints of the thick armor. Then, with a twist, Yanily jerked his spear side to side and finally ripped it out, emptying the Death Knight’s blue health bar completely.

Dynamic Quest Complete

Congratulations. Achievement unlocked – Till Death do us Part.

You have prevented the Restless Dead from disturbing the Ritual of Cleansing.

Please access a Dungeon Interface to unlock class-specific reward.

Note: The Ritual is not yet complete.

“Stay on your toes,” Seena said as the blue column of light faded with the death of the Mid-Boss.“If this is like the other dungeons, we’ve still got the Boss to deal with. Left, what’s the cooldown on your banner?”

“Just over a minute,” Left said. “I’ll bring it out as soon as it’s ready.”

“You’ve saved the Urn, though,” Odi spoke up. “What else could there be?”

“About that,” Hiral said, letting his field of Rejection fall, and he immediately began to Cycle energy in through his mouth. It tasted pretty terrible, but he could already feel it refilling him. “That thing was called the Vassal of Ur’Thul. This is the Urn of Ur’Thul. And, you said it was a burial Urn? Who… or what… exactly, is inside it?”

Odi looked up at the Urn sitting on the pedestal he was hiding behind, then back to Hiral. “No idea.”

“Really?” Seeyela asked, her daggers still in her hands as they all watched for the next threat.

“Really,” Odi said. “Like I said earlier, our Ancestor’s trail was exceedingly difficult to follow. The fact we found this place at all is a miracle. Other than more ancestors”—the Lizardman pointed at the charred ghoul corpses—“I don’t know who these people are. This cemetery…”

“Necropolis,” Yanily corrected.

“Fine—this necropolis is at the far end of our empire, buried deep within an impassible mountain range on an island surrounded by deadly sea monsters,” Odi explained.

“Not really a tourist spot,” Wule said.

“Odi, this sounds like a place you were really, really, really not meant to find,” Hiral said. “Did you ever stop to consider why?”

The Lizardman sighed. “It doesn’t matter. As I said, the emperor commanded it. That’s all there is to it.”

“Fine, but maybe you should consider…”

“Guys, something is happening with the Urn,” Nivian said.

“The ritual of cleansing must be nearing its completion,” Odi said, stepping away from the pedestal and also keeping a safe distance from Seeyela and her green-dripping daggers.

As Nivian suggested, something was definitely happening with the Urn. Three rings of horizontal, concentric light began forming around the Urn, but then changed their angles. While one of the rings stayed level, one went up forty-five degrees, and the other went down the same amount. On each of these rings, a ball of energy formed, different sizes and colors, to circle the central Urn. Around and around and around…

Roots on the pedestal that’d grown dark suddenly flared to life, bright blue to the point it actually hurt to look at them, and glyphs emerged on the sides of the Urn itself.

“This is the ritual of cleansing?” Wule asked, putting an arm in front of his face and taking a step back.

“It seems…” Odi said, being forced back a step himself by a pulse of solar energy from the Urn, “… a little more dramatic than I expected.”

“What else could it be?” Hiral asked, but he got his answer as the Urn’s cap shot straight into the sky. A wide cone of light burst out, the same symbols as on the Urn burning to life along the edges. And there, hanging within the blue light, floated a figure.

Clothed almost entirely in black, with tight leggings, boots, and a long trenchcoat—which would’ve hung like a robe, if not for the split down the front and back that left it flapping in the light—the hooded Lizardman skull glanced down at the party. A finger flick of its gloved left hand, and a twisted script appeared on its black clothing, running up its arms, across its torso, down its legs, and over its hood.

Blue flames erupted to life in the previously empty eye sockets. Luminescent blue tears ran down the skull’s cheeks, and a name appeared above its head.

(Elite Undead – Lich – Boss) Remnant of Ur’Thul – Unknown Rank

“What’s a lich?” Wule asked.

“Isn’t it like a moss or something?” Yanily asked, though his spear was clearly aimed at the new arrival.

“Pitiful creatures, WITNESS ME AND MY RESURRECTION!” the lich shouted, more waves of solar energy pushing the party members back. Then the Bosstook one step forward, its foot landing on the slanted edge of the blue light and going no further. “What is this?” it hissed, its voice like dry sand skittering across a crypt.

“It can’t get out?” Seena asked.

“The Urn must be some kind of seal…” Hiral said. “The same glyphs are on the cone of light now too. It’s keeping it in.”

“For how long?” Seena said.

“Wish I knew,” Hiral responded.

“Do we attack it?” Nivian asked, whip coiled back and ready to go.

“Attack?” the lich asked, its voice rising. “You would dare consider assaulting your god? Bound though I may be within this light—for now—don’t think for a moment it will protect you from me.”

Two floating books appeared on either side of it. The book on its right was as black as night, with blood-red bands, and a single eye opened on the cover to swivel back and forth like it was alive. On its left was a book clearly bound in bark-like Troblin flesh, layered and stitched on. A lipless mouth opened on its cover, and needle-teeth gnashed while a tongue tasted the air.

“Can’t be good,” Wule said, just before three more columns of blue light appeared around the Urn to form a triangular configuration.

An exact copy of the Remnant of Ur’Thul stepped out of each.

“Now, then, your energy will feed my release,” the lich hissed.

Above each of the three copies, the same nametag and health bar appeared, labelling them all as a Boss, but there couldn’t really be three bosses all at once. Sure, the party had just dealt with three Mid-Bosses all at the same time, but two of them had been in extremely weakened states. Which meant these had to be, too.

Each one-third of its strength?

“Plan, boss?” Nivian asked. Just as the tank spoke, each of the three copies seemed to prepare themselves.

Bones burst out of corpses across the courtyard towards one lich to circle around it. The copy’s gloved hands snaked out to grab two in particular, small, hand-scythe-like weapons forming an instant later. The second of the lich-copies dropped into what had to be a fighting stance, and a ring of frost formed on the ground at its feet, the air shimmering as ice crystals formed. The third and final lich-copy stood straight and put one fist against the palm of its other hand in front of it. All around it, the air turned crimson as small droplets of blood shot from the burst corpses to hang nearby like a thick cloud.

Dynamic Quest

The Remnant of Ur’Thul strains against its cage.

Defeat the three aspects of the great lich’s power before it frees itself.

Time remaining: Unknown.

“Looks like we’re dealing with them all at once,” Seena said. “We don’t know what their abilities are, but here’s the split. Wule and Nivian, you’ve got the blood-lich. I’m hoping your high endurance and healing will protect you from whatever it’s going to do.”

“Got it,” the twins said, Nivian already using his movement ability to close the distance.

“Me, Seeyela, and Yanily will deal with this ice guy,” Seena said, her sister and the spearman having already proven they worked well together, and the three converged.

No sooner had they moved than the lich struck forward, its fist coming around like it was punching something, even though the closest Grower was twenty feet away. Ice burst from its blow, a line of it charging straight towards Seena, but she calmly slashed her hands in front of her once, twice, and twin Cinders stopped the rushing ice in its tracks.

“That leaves the bone guy to me,” Hiral said, signaling Left and Right, and the three of them converged on Mr. Sickle.

With their targets chosen, Hiral put the other two liches out of his mind and focused entirely on the bones whirling around the black-clad Boss in front of him. It’d already proven it could sharpen the bones with a touch—and maybe without a touch—so he’d need to watch for that. But what other tricks did it have up its sleeve?

“Banner is ready,” Left said.

“Do it,” Hiral said, drawing his RHCs and taking aim while Right charged in from the side.

A golden dome flooded out as Left planted the Banner of Courage—no way he could afford to carry it around against a Boss—and Hiral quickly double-checked the buff notification.

You have been buffed by Banner of Courage.

Critical Strike Rate increased by 8% for 180 seconds.

Critical Strike Damage increased by 30% for 180 seconds.

Minor Healing Over Time for 180 seconds.

Minor Shielding granted for 180 seconds.

Immune to Fear and Fear-like effects for 180 seconds.

Solar Absorption Rate increased by 1 Rank for 180 seconds.

Who knew if a lich could use fear or fear-like effects, but if anything could, this sure looked like one of those things. A thought closed the window, and Hiral pulled his triggers.

No surprise, two of the bones swept in front of the lich-copy to intercept the bolts, but the Impact blasted them to dust, leaving the Boss only about a million other bones it could use. Worse, the two shots didn’t even distract the monster in the least, and it turned its weapons on Right as the double charged in.

A bladed scythe whipped out, spinning like a sawblade, but Right nimbly ducked under it and continued his charge. A jerk of the lich’s empty hand, though, and Hiral’s eyes went to the scythe sailing away.

Just like when Hiral used his Rune of Attraction on his weapons, the scythe snapped around as if it were a boomerang to streak for the back of Right’s head. And the double didn’t even see it coming.

A pull of his trigger, and Hiral’s bolt knocked the weapon off course just enough for it to sail past Right while the double pushed solar energy into his right arm. Meridian Lines flared up his fist to his arm, then to his shoulder, and then down his back, at which point he twisted around to throw a punch straight for the lich.

Bones swept in from both sides to block the attack, but the Boss didn’t pull in nearly enough, purple fire consuming them all as the impact cracked the ground and formed a horizontal pillar of flame as tall as Right was. Like it’d been hit by a massive battering ram, the lich-copy skidded back, heels digging divots in the dry ground, then twisted to the side to bring more bones to bear.

Left’s Wing of Anella froze a dozen of the flying bones as he swept past, dropping the chunks to the ground, and then the double cut hard and swung back around with his Dagger of Sath. Two bones quickly came out to form an X and block the blow, but the stream of purple water that caught up to the blade blasted them apart, and a slashing wound appeared on the lich’s shoulder.

During the whole exchange, Hiral hadn’t been idle, but instead pulling his triggers as soon as they were off cooldown to reduce the number of bones swirling around the Boss. Sadly, he might as well have not done anything with how little difference it was making. The boss was just too well defended against ranged attacks.

Not that his RHCs were the only weapons he had. Hiral sheathed them before drawing the Emperor’s Greatsword.