Anneleigh looked around to the piles of
bodies and swarms of endless cultists and Hellen noticed her gaze.
“The sooner we rid Scarlet Gorge of the
Endless, the sooner we can better assist those who have already perished, but
we are likely to lose more lives if we do not act quickly.” She said.
“You must acquire his phylactery if you hope to defeat him. “
“Phylactery?” Anneleigh asked.
“The amulet that protects him from harm.” She said.
“Use this relic, the Tavril’s Will, to burn through the undead with holy
fire.”
“And once I’ve found it?” Anneleigh asked, accepting the relic.
“I expect,” Sir Armex added, “the next step
will find you sooner than you will find it.”
Frowning slightly at his cryptic
instructions, Anneleigh turned and made her way up to the Demon Steps The
undead and the endless cult swarmed there by the hundreds. Anneleigh observed the operation, unsure if
she could pull off this mission alone.
She was just considering returning to Crimson Wash and asking Sir Armex
for a few soldiers when a solitary dove flew over her head, circled for a few
moments, flew over a group of undead miners, and nosedived into their work
site. The few workers in the small group
attacked the dove on sight. Anneleigh
almost moved to help the poor creature, but she paused for a moment when she
noticed the movement of the other miners – or rather, the non-movement. The undead miners and the endless cult who
were not in the immediate area of the interrupting bird did not move to
attack. It was as if they were unaware
of the disturbance.
Anneleigh moved cautiously, aware that the
lack of movement from the other miners may simply have been due to the small
threat. Never the less, she took the
dove as a message, a sign from the Vigil, and moved on through the crowd. Once or twice she caught the attention of a
group of cultists, but, as she had hoped, the others were too far under their
enchantment to notice. Onward she
walked, deeper into the cultist operation.
Around her she began to see not only miners, but also large vats that emitted
fumes from their vents. Unsure of what
to make of these structures, Anneleigh returned her focus to obtaining the
Phylactery.
She knew she had reached her destination
when she turned a corner found she was at one end of a long chasm. At the other end a stone Alter; between them,
hundreds of undead minions. Unlike their
counterparts, these undead did not appear to have any purpose other than to bar
entrance to the Alter.
Anneleigh removed the relic from her pocket
and held it tight in her hands. “Tavril
protect me.” She whispered to the relic.
It began to glow with a bright white light.
She began to walk into the fray, slowly at first,
testing the capabilities of the relic.
The undead that surrounded her shuddered and backed away into the
shadowed of the chasm walls. Anneleigh
quickened her pace but slowed again as she reached the Alter.
The phylactery of Angdralthus pulsed with
an unholy light. Anneleigh found it both
horrifying and beautiful. She wondered
if it was safe to touch. She held the
relic of Tavril to the phylactery and it caused no damage. Anneleigh scooped it up and heard a voice,
soft and musical, ringing in her ears.
“The Dark Phylactery of Angdralthus the
Lich Lord lies within your grasp. All
that remains is to smash it upon his altar in the Demon Steps, then kill the
Lich.”
“Thank you.” Anneleigh whispered to the
relic in her hands. She walked slowly
out of the undead mob, the mindless zombies returned to their guard post once
the holy light was out of sight, as if nothing had happened.
Anneleigh looked around, unsure where to
find the Alter of the Lich Lord. She was
sure on her way in she did not pass anything that would match that description. She studied the landscape and noticed two
caves set deep in the rock. As she was
observing them, a second white dove passed the opening of the nearer of the two
caves, circled for a moment, and then few to her side. Anneleigh nodded to the bird as it flew over
her head and set off towards the cave.
Once she was inside the cave she knew she
had found the right place. At its center
stood a second stone alter, very similar to the one that held the
Phylacery. She placed the small orb on
the Alter, took the blunt end of her dagger, and smashed the orb. At once the cave was filled with a purple
smoke that swirled and finally solidified into the Lich Lord Angdralthus.
He focused his gaze on Anneleigh. “You cannot kill that which does not die!” He said as she held out the relic of
Tavril. The small orb in her hand
shuddered for a moment and then began to draw out the purple smoke. It shuddered still more violently as it
continued to draw out the Lich Lord’s life force, until finally the undead body
crumpled to the ground and lay silent on the floor of the cave.
Anneleigh looked at the figure on the
floor, satisfied he was vanquished, and turned to leave. As she reached the mouth of the cave she
heard a familiar voice calling her back.
"Very good, Ascended! You have slain
Angdralthus, but too late. We already have all the sourcestone we need for the
ritual. Soon, Regulos will be set free upon Telara!"
Anneleigh turned to see the woman who had
stood with the Hag on top of the keep before the rift came.
“Who are you?” She asked, but the woman merely
chuckled and disappeared.
Anneleigh blinked several times and then
remembered the orb in her hands. She
scooped up what was left of the Phylacery, left the cave, and quickly made her way
down from the Demon Steps, no longer skirting the undead miners – they lay in
piles dotting the path, no longer alive.
“It is done.” Anneleigh said to Hellen as
she handed her both the orb and the shattered remains of the object that had
tied Angdralthus to life. “He’s gone,
but we may have a bigger problem.”
“What do you mean?” Sir Armex asked.
“The woman, I don’t know who she is, she
said they have enough sourcestone for their ritual.”
“This woman, what did she look like?”
Anneleigh described her and both Sir Armex
and Hellen gasped in shock.
“You’ve seen Alsbeth?” They asked in unison.
Anneleigh shrugged. “I don’t know her name, but judging by your
reactions I’d guess that isn’t good.”
“It is a miracle you are still alive.” Hellen said then shook her head. “It is a story for another time. Right now we need to focus on the task at
hand. We may have been too late to save
the people of Stonecrest, but at least now they have their vengeance. Let this be a lesson to the enemies of Telara
– There is no escaping the justice of the Vigil."
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