Chapter 17: Kamatu

Givontair:

As soon as I place the rune at the base of the hill, I can hear something like a hissing sound. There is mana trying to disable the rune, but I don't let it win. With a determination that I get before every hunt, I pour most of my mana inside the rune stone. 

For a second, I think it is going to crack. Yet, the foreign mana gives up, and I climb the stairs. There are no grave markers anywhere, to point me to Kamatu's tomb. If he even has a tomb, instead of simply being stuck in the ground. 

That complicates matters. Normally, I'd use my nose, to pinpoint my target. Yet, the hill is so socked with the necromantic mana of the Lich, that I can't tell where he is. So, I transform, and use my claws, to dig out as much soil as I can. After a while, my claws hit something metallic. I peer inside the hole I made.  

There is an iron container there, with the two snakes around a cross. The sign of the Pope. I rise my paw, and bring it down on the coffin. Then, for good measure, I breathe fire down on it. 

When I am just about to congratulate myself, a shadow comes forth from the coffin. It materializes into a human-like figure. The stench that soaked the hill now becomes unbearable. I breathe more fire down on the shadow. Yet, it dodges, and tries to leave the hill. 

My tail whips, and I get the shadow at the abdomen. The force of the hit force it back. Instead of a pained groan, I hear laughter. Narrowing my eyes, I begin to cleanse the air. Fire doesn't seem to be working for this.

 I can't keep doing the same old thing, and expect better results. This prompts the Lich to begin hurling necromantic balls made of mana. 

Before even a single one hits me, I leap into the skies. Circling the hill, I keep on cleansing the air. It is a simple attack against the undead that all healers know. The Lich tries to bury itself back into the earth, but I don't let it.

With a roar, I force myself to breathe out a mana cleansing beam directly at the creature. I do my best not to gag, after that. 

Dragons are not creatures of darkness, as the Pope would like for the people to believe. We can be light, gray, and yes, black. But that doesn't make us into mindless beasts. 

That said, it is still unpleasant for a gray dragon like me, to breathe out a light spell. I will feel the burns in my mouth for days to come. My attack hits a shield. I lower myself, so my claws can reach the barrier. I begin to bather at the black shield. 

One hit.

The barrier turns into a spiderweb of cracks. Yet, the Lich still holds on. I wonder, just what sort of will did it possess back when it was alive? 

Second hit.

The barrier gets a big hole into it. I position my maw over the hole, and then breathe in another wave of light mana. This time, I am rewarded with a shriek. As the Lich cooks alive, my tail whips at the barrier.

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After the second strike, the barrier falls completely. Now, that the ground shines white from the mana, I can see my handiwork. 

The robes of the Lich, once from shadows, are now no longer around its skeletal body. I can see the ribs, where the rotten skin has fallen off the bones. Yet, the eyes don't seem to waver.

 They hold the same spite and hatred, as they did when the battle began. I don't like this look on the Lich's face. So, I fly up, and begin to circle it. 

It seems it was the good choice to do so because the Lich suddenly uses up its last strength, to fire one last shot of necromantic mana my way. I fly, trying to outrun the mana. Yet, before I manage to get out of the dome of the barrier I placed, the mana seeps into my tail. 

I roar then, not carrying that I am outside the dome, and that people can hear and see me. The pain is too much.

From past battles with Liches, I know that this is a curse. The Lich is trying to take over my body. Squeezing my eyes shut from the pain, I position my tail between my teeth. 

Blood flows down, as I bite the infected tip off. The next thing I know, I am plummeting from the skies. Back in my human form, I don't feel the pain of the bite. I am lucky that the Lich didn't get one of my legs. 

My tail tip will regrow, but the infected tail tip has to be disposed of. I put on some gloves, and walk to where I saw it fall. The tip is as big as my human form is tall. I focus cleansing mana into my hands, and begin to kill off the Lich.

When I am done, my tail turns to ash. It will be a long time, until I manage to fly again. Yet, the Lich is dead, and the stench of the hill is clearing up. 

Just because I am always careful with these things, I take the ash of my tail, and place it in an empty bottomless bag. Nathaniel might have a use for it. Or, the Lich might have gone into a slumber.

At any rate, I will get that sapphire. It is almost worth it, to not be able to fly for the next couple of months. 

Nathaniel is going to get what he wants. I will stage my death. With a heavy heart, I change back into my dragon form. My tail hurts and bleeds. I take a nail between my teeth, and peel it off.

Whimpering, I place the nail inside Kamatu's hole. It is too big to fit in. Let the people of this town think that a dragon died to defend them. If this makes them more accepting of my kind, then all the better. 

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