The OP Lich is a Returnee, Book 12 Prologue (Patreon)

Prologue – Trade Chat

(Magical World Disharmony Server, General Chat)

UsualSuspect, manoutoftime, muon, MewTwo, Avariel, Chummer, Golddigger, CrazyCelt, Blaze, DoYouEvenLyft?, MarcoPolo, MightMakesRight, MacD, Inquisitor, OrangeQueen, Lizard, RedFox, SemiSolidSnake, BabyShark, Lichwatcher, Not_the_Face!, Scholar, Salty, Anonymous3, Anonymous4, Anonymous7, Anonymous9, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot, DigDug, Backlog, DarkAvariel, Knocker, GrimDark, BloodForTheBloodGod, BackDat@55Up and DarkAngel are in the chat.

Blaze: Oh, god, the news from the Azores is tragic!

Lizard: Any ideas what happened?

MacD: Well, we know Lich Queen was going there to do another of those seal thingies.

Knocker: There were also reports of separatist forces occupying the site of the seal. LQ basically yelled to the whole island that they had until nightfall to leave, or she was going to stomp them.

Lichwatcher: There are witnesses who saw her doing her flying undead cavalry routine, taking a group up to the top of the mountain, just after dark. A couple hours later, most of them came back down, and went straight to the port, where they got on a seaplane and left.

Backlog: Most of them?

Lichwatcher: LQ wasn’t with them, and a couple others weren’t, either. About two hours after that, I lost contact with my source.

Scholar: That would be when the seal blew, more than likely. The central islands are just GONE, and the rest of the Azores might as well be. They are predicting casualties (dead and wounded) will be something like 99% of the civilian population!

Salty: Has anyone heard from LQ since?

DarkAvariel: No. I’ve been checking other places she maintains a presence, and she isn’t logged in anywhere.

CrazyCelt: C’mon, that blast destroyed entire islands! No way she’s alive, right?

Scholar: I don’t know. If anyone could survive a blast like that, it would be her.

CrazyCelt: Then where is she?

Scholar: Surviving doesn’t mean that she’s necessarily in any state to chat. And she may have larger concerns at the moment.

DarkAvariel: I can confirm that the seaplane she rode out to the Azores on is set to land in Lisbon in thirty minutes.

Not_the_face!: So, what does this mean for the remaining seals?

Scholar: I don’t know. If LQ isn’t able to deal with them, they could all be bombs, waiting to go off.

TheLichQueen has entered the chat.

Salty: LQ! You’re alive!

TheLichQueen: Yes, though that blast injured me more than I have been in the last thirty years.

Knocker: What happened?

TheLichQueen: One of the volunteers lost control during the ritual. The pain overwhelmed her, and things unraveled before anyone could help.

Blaze: All this death because they couldn’t take the pain?

TheLichQueen: You will not speak like that again. The woman was very brave, being a civilian who had never been trained to withstand pain and torture. She failed the trial, but that does not lessen the courage she showed in the attempt. And I will personally see to anyone who says otherwise in my presence.

Blaze: Uh, yeah. Ok. Got it. *backs away slowly*

DarkAvariel: What does this mean for the other seals?

TheLichQueen: All it means is that everyone is now aware of the consequences of failure. The need to unleash the remaining seals has not gone away.

Salty: What is the next seal you plan to take on?

TheLichQueen: I am uncertain. The seal I am most concerned of if the guardian were to get loose is Earth. However, that is in a heavily populated area, and I would like to give local officials more time to decide what they wish to do.

Salty: where is that one again?

TheLichQueen: Near Valparaiso. Population of just over three hundred thousand.

Scholar: What was the guardian for the Seal of Wind?

TheLichQueen: A Vorpal Bunny.

CrazyCelt: A bunny, really?

TheLichQueen: You know the rabbit in that old Monty Python movie?

CrazyCelt: Yeah, sure. It is a classic.

TheLichQueen: Now accelerate it to supersonic speeds, and give it magical boosts to both offensive and defensive ability. And let it breed true with normal rabbits, with exactly the same fecundity.

CrazyCelt: Ah.

TheLichQueen: I don’t know how the ancients managed to capture one, but it is a good thing that its dead. People in the other world would burn an entire country to ash to ensure that they killed a vorpal bunny when they appeared.

DarkAvariel: So, what of the next seal, then? If not Earth, which one will it be?

TheLichQueen: Death is closest to where I am, but it is also in a populated area, not to mention a cultural site, so I am giving local officials more time to prepare before I go there. Of the other two, Light is closest, so I’ll venture there. Fortunately, the Kerguelen Islands are barely inhabited, so an evacuation, if necessary, will be easier to handle.

Scholar: Um, what about the earthquakes the destruction of the Seal of Wind caused?

TheLichQueen: You can’t expect a blast of that size to not cause rumbling elsewhere, especially when magic is involved.

Scholar: No, my concern is with that final seal, the Prime Seal, you called it. That is in northern California. If it blows…

TheLichQueen: Then Nevada might get beachfront property, yes.

GrimDark: What, really? You mean like ‘the big one’, which people have been projecting for decades will wreck California completely, if not throw it into the sea?

TheLichQueen: Given the proximity to the San Andreas Fault, I certainly cannot deny the possibility, for an uncontrolled blast or a failed ritual. I believe that I could minimize the risk in the case of a controlled blast, however. Obviously, it would be best for the ritual to be a success.

Scholar: Um, since you’re needing someone with the proper element for each seal, what does that mean for the seal with all the elements?

TheLichQueen: Finding someone with all the elements is highly unlikely. However, I have been working on an idea for what to do about that seal, when I come to it.

Blaze: But you don’t know?

TheLichQueen: I am the foremost expert in magic on this planet, and we are in territories that are uncharted, even by all the knowledge I gained in the other world. I am many things, but I am not a goddess, and am neither omniscient nor omnipotent. I am, however, the best chance this world has of not entering a magical ice age. Especially considering that the Prime Seal will be the strongest, and most powerful, of them all.