The world seemed to narrow in as Jasper sat opposite the Lich. He had tried to counterspell one of the Lich's magics, but it was effectively impossible to do through mortal means. He would need to use his divine counterspell to stop anything that the ancient pile of bones cast. With no Energy left, that wasn't really an option.
"You may not know me by name, but you can consider me the god of gods," Jasper announced. He didn't need his Knowledge Domain to tell him that the Lich didn't believe him. It was written clear as day on the skeletal features, which were impossible to read, and yet, the way the magic weaved through it told of every thought that the ancient being had.
"???? ???????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????????????" The Lich asked, impatient to see what Jasper could offer him.
"It is honestly really simple, " he said. "I am not here to end your reign of terror but to contain it. Let us assume, just for a moment, that I am truly the god of gods. You are intelligent. What would be my goal?" Jasper gave the Lich a look, letting the ancient being figure things out on his own.
"??? ???? ???? ?????????????????????? ????????. ??? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????????, ???????? ???? ?????????? ?????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ????????????. ?????? ?????????? ?????????????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ????????????. ??? ?????????? ???? ??????????... ???? ???????? ???? ?????? ??????????. ?????????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ???? ?????????????? ???????? ???????? ???????????????????????? ?????????? ???? ??????????." The Lich was clearly pondering, and Jasper did not spoil anything. "?????? ???????? ???????????? ?????? ???????? ????????, ?????? ?????????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ?????????????????????? ???????? ???????? ??????????. ???????????????? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ???????????? ?????????? ???????????? ?????????????????????? ???? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???????????????????? ?????? ??????????. ???? ????????, ?????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ????????????. ?????? ???????? ???? ?????????????? ???????? ???????? ???? ??????????????????, ?????? ???????? ??????????, ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ???????????? ???? ?? ?????????? ???? ??????????. ???? ???????????????? ?????? ?????????????????? ???? ??????????????, ?????????? ???????????????? ?????? ???????????? ???? ?????????? ???? ???????? ?????????????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???????????????????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ???????? ???????? ????????. ??????????? ???????? ???????? ???????????? ????????????. ?????? ???????? ???????? ???? ???????????? ?????? ???????????????? ???????? ??????????."
Jasper could see the Lich grow more and more excited as he came to his conclusion, and the god nodded softly. "You are not incorrect, though you do not have the entire truth. But, you have found the right path." He said, before clearing his throat. "Now, let me ask you. What would happen to my goal if a lich started spawning almost impossibly overpowered undead?" His eyes grew dark, and he knew that the churning mass of emptiness behind him from the Ur-magic he had cast lent itself to quite a dramatic posture.
To someone unable to sense magic as instinctively as Jasper, the Lich would probably have appeared cool and collected, barely noticing the comment. But to Jasper, the Lich might as well have flinched away.
"Good, it seems you understand," Jasper said, ice creeping into his voice. "So, I have two options. Either I can destroy you, which is honestly the easier of these two options. However, I believe that you might still help the world evolve. Or I can contain you, ensuring that those who wish to learn from you or challenge you may do so. Which is why I say I am here to contain you, not stop you."
The Lich didn't appear scarred, though it did seem uneasy. "???? ? ?????????? ???????????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ??????????????."
Jasper shrugged. "You could do that. But then ask yourself, why is an elder dragon and The Scribe of the Gods cleaning up my mess? They are trying to contain my spells. They didn't try to stop me. They are trying not to make my actions damn the world." He said coldly.
The ancient being seemed to reflect on this for a moment before nodding. "????????, ???????? ???????????????????? ?????????? ?????? ??????, ?????? ???? ????????."
The god of magic was happy that the Lich was not trying to argue this case. A flick of his hand manifested a piece of paper that started to write on its own, next to it, a peacock feather of gold inlayed with various gems floated. The tip was dripping with a dark red liquid. Jasper could see Riez roll her eyes, but he ignored her.
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"Congratulations. You are the first to make a proper contract with me, " he said. "Consider this a soul oath, though I will accept it as an aspect of nature, meaning that it cannot be broken, and we both will be compelled to comply with it."
The Lich seemed hesitant to agree to any deal with a being stronger than himself, but Jasper didn't let that stop him. "You will, of course, be allowed to read the contract before signing, and you can even refuse to sign, but let me at least give you cliffnotes of the deal before you try to wriggle your way out of it."
Jasper willed the page to highlight the sections of the contract that he was discussing, a feat that he found surprisingly easy, not just because of his Contract Domain, but also his Knowledge Domain seemed to want to present information to the ancient pile of bones.
"First of all, you will be locked to a place south of here known as the Hall of the Lords. We are talking about some very ancient kings that has made their tombs there, so you should find plenty of ways to enhance your craft." He explained, but when the Lich still seemed hesitant, the god decided he needed to show off his power, just a tiny bit.
He pulled on his Knowledge Domain, letting the knowledge of every single being on the continent pour through him and then get filtered. He didn't process any of it, but he committed a single Worship point to creating a map of the area on what could have been a piece of parchment.
On closer inspection, the parchment-like substance was actually the flayed, dried-out skin of one of the undead beings that had been churned to pieces by his Ur-magic. But it was too late not to commit to the idea. When he pulled his hand back, he admired his handywork.
"We should be between the Eternal Camp and the Golden Market. In fact, there probably was a tunnel to the drow tunnels pretty close to here..." He paused again. "Gosh dangit. Jasmine was right... the orks and humans must have been fighting together against the drow. Hmmm, better not let her know that I was wrong." He said, happy that he had made such a big mess of his Ur-spell, that The Scribe had to focus on maintaining a barrier around the swirling and churning mass of emptiness that threatened to tear the world apart.
"Anyway, as you can see, the Hall of the Lords is right there, almost at the southern tip. Whatever the case, you are not constrained to that area, but I do expect you to make it your base. The only rule that I impose is that you are not allowed to cross any water as the map looks now. Yes, that means that even if someone should build a path across that large river, you are not allowed to cross it later," Jasper said, pointing at the large rift that effectively turned the southern tip into an island.
"In exchange for limiting yourself to this area, I can provide you with protection." The Lich had leaned forward and grasped the skin of its former minion, studying the map that would auto-update as more knowledge of the area became known. "Your greatest foe will, without a doubt, be my wife. I can promise you protection from her." The sound of Riez giving a loud bark of laughter, only to cover her mouth, might have undermined this argument a little.
Jasper shot his intern a look. "Besides that, I cannot offer you protection from any other god, or godlike entity. However, I will grant you knowledge of one of the Ur-spells meant for creating an undead necropolis."
"?????? ?????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???????? ??????????? ????... ?????? ???????? ?????????????? ?????????????????? ???????? ??????????????????. ???????? ???? ??????????????????, ?????? ???????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ???????????????? ???????????? ???? ?????????????? ???????????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????????????????? ????????????????. ???? ???????? ???????????????? ???????? ???? ???????? ???? ?? ???????????? ???? ????????????????, ?????? ???????? ?????????? ???????????????????? ?????? ???????????????? ???? ???????????????? ???? ???????? ???? ???????? ???????????? ???????? ?????? ??????????, ?????????????? ???? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ???? ????." The Lich spoke softly, clearly tasting each word, as he realised that this might actually be to his benefit.
Jasper smiled, waved his hand, and the contract amended itself. "Oh, if someone ever asks you why you cannot cross the river, you will have to blame it on Kelllwan. Make something up about him blessing the entire sea or something like that. Just don't mention this contract." The section that hammered this out was highlighted, which was what Jasper had just added.
"So... do we have a deal?" Jasper asked. The Lich hesitated, but then grabbed the golden feather and sighed. Apparently, his name was Vermund. A strange name, but there was no need to comment on it. Jasper accepted the contract, using his power to accept it as an aspect of nature itself. Instantly, it was enforced with divine will, but thanks to Jasper's Contract Domain, he didn't have to pay for it. He did have to instantly use his Knowledge Domain to give Vermund the Lich the knowledge of the Ur-spell that could create a necropolis. Something that would typically cost Worship or Energy to do, however, thanks to the synergy between the Knowledge Domain and the Magic Domain, he found that he could do it for free.
He smiled, happy with his accomplishment, before he turned his attention to the hole in the world behind him. "Yeah, I should probably log out and fix that." He said with a sigh.
It looks like Reiz will be left in the game alone for some time, what would you be interested in her doing? (Please add a comment if I haven't written your preferred option here.)
