1.8 KMAS: Fall of Vermithrex (Act II: Part 1)

The stage was dark. Kyros and the dwarf foreman were walking through an artistically interpreted mineshaft while holding magic crystal powered torches.

"What kind of noise was it, Master Deepsilver?" The Great Mage asked.

"It sounded a bit like chanting, my lord. It sounded like a group of people."

"And you were the only one who heard this?"

"No, no. Some of my boys heard it as well. And the darnedest thing, it was coming from a section of the mines where we haven't done any work yet."

"Are you sure that it wasn't some kids playing a prank?"

"Absolutely. Human kids don't come into the mines. And dwarf kids know better than to go into unexplored sections of the mine."

The mage and the dwarf reach a solid cardboard wall.

"The voices were behind this wall, you say?"

"Yes, my lord Kyros. This is where I heard them last time."

Kyros inspected the wall. Put his ear to it. Ran his hand over it as if he were checking it magically.

"Umm..." he said thoughtfully.

"Is something the matter, my lord?"

"It's a false wall. There is something behind it," Kyros said.

The dwarf seemed scared. "Do you...do you think it's necromancers, my lord?"

"I don't know. But be vigilant. No one is in the mine at this time, am I right?"

"Yes, my lord. I have told all my boys to take the day off."

"Then stand back, Master Deepsilver. And if I tell you to run, do so without turning back."

"Yes...yes, Great Mage."

When the dwarf took a couple of steps back, Kyros brought his hand to his neck and gently rubbed something, possibly a necklace that was completely covered by his robe. Then he started muttering an incantation. Bright orange light started emanating from his hands, subtly lighting the dark stage. Suddenly two bright balls of orange light rushed from his hands and crashed into the cardboard wall, blowing it up into pieces.

Cries of "Wow" and "Awesome" were heard from the audience. Even Esmeralda clapped loudly.

"They got a real mage to play him," said a surprised Sera.

Liriel nodded. "Must be one of the girls from the Academy."

"An unlicensed mage, you mean?" Sera said testily.

Liriel smiled and placed a finger on her lips, telling the Queen of Stormhaven to keep it a secret.

The shattered cardboard wall revealed a large cavernous room (another portion of the stage), clearly carved by sentient hands, as evidenced by the cardboard pillars and some 'interesting' wall art.

The Great mage and the foreman walked forward holding on to their torches. Master Deepsilver made sure to hide behind the Great Mage, just in case something unsavory crept out of the darkness.

As the pair made their way through the vast cavernous room, Kyros suddenly stopped. The dwarf bumped into the Great Mage's back and started panicking. "What...what is it, my lord?" he anxiously whispered.

Kyros did not answer the foreman. He simply stood there, staring at whatever was in front of him. The dwarf gathered up his courage, and coming out from behind the Great Mage, he let the light of his torch fall upon the object before them.

The foreman's torchlight (actually, light from above) illuminated the most hideous statue of a skeleton. Its face was covered by an equally horrific mask.

As soon as the statue was illuminated, some of the children in the audience screamed and had to be consoled by their mothers or caretakers. Esmeralda's eyes, on the other hand were fixed on stage, eagerly anticipating the next move.

"That's a pretty gruesome statue," Sera said.

"Kyros told me that the original was far more horrific. Did you see it, Sera?"

"Yes. It was covered in human and dwarf skin. Also, the entire statue was red. At first we thought that it was paint, but then we learned that it was..." Sera suddenly realized that there was a child present and stopped speaking.

But Esmeralda's morbid curiosity had already been awakened. "Was it blood?" she asked, as her eyes lit up with the joy of learning an adult secret.

"Watch the play, brat. Children shouldn't be thinking about such things," Sera said.

"You are no fun," Esmeralda complained.

Meanwhile, on stage, Master Deepsilver was about to utter a guttural shriek of horror, but Kyros wrapped his hands around the dwarf's mouth in time and stopped him from screaming.

Once the dwarf had calmed down, he fearfully whispered, "My lord...what...what is that thing?"

"A statue of the Lich Lord Vermithrex," Kyros said, in a matter-of-fact way.

"Does that mean it's the Necromancers?"

"Much worse, master dwarf. I think it's best if you go back to the surface. I need to investigate this further."

"Yes...yes, of course," Master Deepsilver mumbled.

"You are not leaving?"

"No, no, I am. It's just...it's just...my lord, can you come with me? Just until the upper section."

This got a few laughs from the audience, including Esmeralda and Liriel. But Kyros simply glared at the foreman.

Suddenly, wild howling emanated from the darkness, followed by sounds of something brittle breaking, and numerous voices screaming out in pain.

"I want to go home," the dwarf whimpered, hiding behind Kyros and holding on to his hand.

Kyros scanned the darkness for a moment. Then, without turning around, he yelled, "Run, master dwarf," before hurling a ball of light into the darkness.

The ball illuminated an army of small skeletons and crashed into them. The skeletons hit by the ball of light crumpled away, but their compatriots let out a screech and rushed the Great Mage.

Master Deepsilver was already halfway out of the room.

The Great Mage produced more balls of light and threw them at the incoming tiny evil menaces. Most of them dutifully lay flat on the stage after being hit by the light, but some had to be reminded by their friends that they were now dead. A particularly tiny skeleton (dwarven) ran around the stage and managed to grab hold of the Great Mage's leg. It only let go when the Great Mage gently bonked it on the head, and one of the other skeletons told it to lie down.

Liriel, Sera, Esmeralda, and most of the audience were laughing hysterically while watching the great battle on stage. Once all the skeletons were dealt with, one way or the other, the pillars started shaking, and the wall paintings started crumbling. A hideous laugh echoed through the auditorium. The darkest portion of the stage was slowly illuminated to reveal a tall skeletal figure wearing the Mask of Vermithrex.

"Is this another mage? I think he is floating," Sera pointed out.

Liriel squinted at the stage and said, "No, I think it's just wires. Look, he seems a bit unbalanced."

Despite the amateurish props, the Lich Lord seemed to have the desired effect, as many children in the audience started crying again.

"A LONELY MAGE COMES TO CHALLENGE THE EMPEROR. DID YOUR ELDERS SEND YOU IN HERE AS A SACRIFICE, LITTLE MAGE?"

"Wow, he has a really deep voice," said Sera. "Even I felt a bit of a chill."

Liriel agreed. "Right? His delivery is quite good."

On stage, Kyros stared defiantly at the ancient Lich. "I came of my own free will, Lord Vermithrex," he said. "I am Kyros Magnus. And I will be your end."

A massive cheer erupted from the audience as Kyros delivered the line.

"It's a bit cheesy," Sera said.

Esmeralda glared at the queen. "No it's not. It's very cool," she said, defending her hero.

"You have to admit, it's exactly like something he would say," Liriel noted, which made Sera laugh.

But the Lich was not impressed. He burst into another loud, unsettling cackle.

"FOOLISH CHILD. MANY, MANY ARCHMAGES HAVE TRIED TAKING ME DOWN. THEY CAME ONE BY ONE; THEY CAME ALL TOGETHER, AND NOW, ALL OF THEM ARE WORM FOOD, WHILE I AM STILL HERE. COME, SHOW ME WHAT YOU HAVE. WHEN I HAVE BROKEN YOUR BODY, I SHALL LAY YOU UPON MY ALTAR, AND RIP YOUR SOUL FROM YOUR FLESH. YOU WILL SERVE ME FOR ALL ETERNITY, WRITHING, CRYING, AND IN PAIN."

Sera looked at Liriel to say something snarky, but she saw that Liriel seemed a bit upset. The Queen gently placed her hand on Liriel's and said, "Hey, Liri, it's just a play. Don't take the words too seriously."

Liriel gave her best friend a gentle smile. "I know. I was just caught up in the moment for a second, that's all."

The Lich Lord immediately attacked the Kyros. A bright beam of red light erupted from under his robes and headed straight towards the Kyros.

"Watch out, Great Mage," someone in the audience cried out.

"See, I told you he was a mage," Sera said.

"No. The spell didn't come from his hands," Liriel countered. "He is hiding a spell wand under his robes."

"Hmph. I wonder if it's licensed."

"Sera..."

"Fine, fine. I won't be a buzzkill. Let's watch the play."

Just as the red light was about to hit Kyros, he produced a clear white shield. The Lich's spell crashed against the magnificent shield and petered out.

"Very nice shield spell," Sera said. "Don't know about its strength, but it looks really nice. This girl might be talented."

'Very cool," Esmeralda managed to say without taking her eyes off the stage and the beautiful spell.

The Lich Lord sent a few more spells of varied colors at the Great Mage. All of them crashed against the shield and were rendered useless.

"YOU DO POSSESS SOME MINOR SKILL. I HAVE OTHER MATTERS TO ATTEND TO FOR NOW, BUT I SHALL NOT FORGET YOU, LITTLE MAGE. ONCE I HAVE SUBJUGATED ALL THESE PETTY KINGDOMS AND BEGUN THE HARVEST, I SHALL PAY A GREAT DEAL OF ATTENTION TO YOU, AND TO THOSE WHOM YOU LOVE."

An enraged Kyros threw a ball of orange light at the Lich. But before it could reach the necromancer, the walls of the mine started shaking, and cardboard boxes fell from above, blocking the spell and also Kyros' path to the Lich Lord.

Lord Vermithrex cackled once again, mocking the Great Mage's failed effort, and floated away off stage. Hooded figures rose up from the darkness, and they could be seen following the ancient Lich. Meanwhile, Kyros once again clutched his hidden necklace and silently and stoically watched the now blocked path.

The audience seemed to enjoy the entire sequence, but Esmeralda was not happy. "The Great Mage should have been quicker. He got distracted from all the lovey-dovey stuff," she complained.

"He was worried about his loved ones. It's only natural," Liriel said, trying to explain narrative structure to the little girl.

"What are you both talking about? Vermithrex wasn't even there."

"He wasn't there?" Esmeralda looked confused. "But...but what about the skeletons?"

"The skeletons were real," Sera said. "In fact, there was a huge number of them. The necromancers had been digging up ancient burial mounds in the mountains and reanimating them."

"So it was just skeletons?"

"No. There were a dozen or so necromancers, apprentices of Vermithrex. Kyros made short work of them all."

"That's still pretty cool," Esmeralda asserted.

"I think so too," Liriel said. "And having Vermithrex meet the hero at the beginning is better. It wouldn't make for a good story if they just met at the end."

"It's only cool because nobody has to deal with burying all these ancient skeletons in the play. In reality it was a mess. Miners were too afraid to go in. I read in the report that Kyros had to coax and slightly threaten the soldiers from the garrison to help him carry out and bury the skeletons."

"I also heard that there was an issue with the priest?"

"Yes. There was only one priest in Wormwood. And he collapsed after seeing all the skeletons. They had to get another priest from a nearby town to bless and consecrate the grounds."

The confrontation between Kyros and the Lich was followed by scenes of attacks from the Cult of Vermithrex along the cities and towns of the eastern border. Small towns were the most vulnerable, and many massacres happened in the dead of the night before anyone realized what was going on. While cities mostly weathered the attacks from outside, they soon fell prey to diseases and the machinations from the necromancers who were already inside the city. Law enforcement would track the cultists through the underbelly of the city, only for them to vanish into the darkness. Attacks from hordes of skeletons, zombies, and ghouls upon the houses of citizens would soon follow.

"I think most of their budget went to set designs for this part," Sera said. "I admit, they put in a lot of work into this."

"And also the make-up. All those little zombies running around look quite good," Liriel added.

There were also scenes in the capital. Queen Seraphina received daily reports from the Great Mage, just as he had promised her. There was also an influx of refugees from the border regions. When the Queen was feeling overwhelmed, Lady Liriel came in to support the refugees and ease tensions in the capital. Both women still glared daggers at each other, but they did not let their personal rivalry get in the way of their work.

There were also scenes of regiments of soldiers, combat mages, and volunteers from the capital getting ready to travel to the eastern border, and the citizens lining up to wish them well.

"My dad joined the fight," Esmeralda said.