"It's midnight, but it doesn't matter. We should move now. How far is the Lich's place from here?" Eryndor asked the toad.
"A hundred miles from here," the toad replied.
"Alright, let's go wake Krog up and leave," Eryndor said, already heading towards Krog's room.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Darn, who is up at this hour?" Krog shouted from inside his room.
"Don't break the door, I'm coming already!" he added, opening the door to find Eryndor grinning at him.
"Master, what's the matter?" Krog asked, still trying to shake off his sleep.
"Hehe, it's time for our revenge. Let's go, let's go!" Eryndor said, his excitement infectious.
"Are you sure? Do you have a plan?" Krog asked, still unsure.
"I've found from a reliable source that the Lich is currently wounded and his magic is unstable. We'll be able to teach him a lesson without breaking a sweat," Eryndor said, his confidence growing.
"Alright, let's go," Krog said, now fully awake and ready to follow Eryndor.
"But... how are we supposed to travel 100 miles from here?" Eryndor asked, realizing they didn't have a mode of transportation.
"Don't worry, Boss. I know a guy," Krog said, disappearing for a while.
Eryndor waited at the front of the door, a crow watching from the window.
"Looks like they're going somewhere," Noir said to Vylonia, who was perched on a nearby branch.
"It's always something with that boy. Follow them," Vylonia replied.
Krog returned with an Ogre who was driving a cart, packed with a couple of dire wolves pulling it.
"They'll take us where we want to go in time," Krog said to Eryndor.
"Great, let us set off," Eryndor said, already climbing onto the cart.
As the group started their journey, Noir flew and sat atop the cart.
"She's tracking us," the fairy said, noticing the crow.
"One battle at a time," Eryndor said telepathically, focusing on their current mission.
The cart ran considerably faster than the carts pulled by bulls, the Ogre driver, named Xora, was an old creature, one of Krog's oldest friends. He didn't do dangerous things like slave trading; he had a family, children, and even grandchildren. Taking customers to and from was his only work, and it didn't involve much danger.
Eryndor told him to go west, and that's where the cart had been moving currently. It had been ten hours since the group started journeying, and the area they were in was plain, dusty, and windy, with not a single living creature seen for miles.
The cart stopped, and Xora looked at Eryndor.
"Are you sure... you want to stop... here?" Xora asked, looking around at the desolate landscape.
"Yes!" Eryndor said, his eyes fixed on something in the distance. "It's only a mile to his lair."
The duo started walking, the fast winds trying to stop them, as if the winds were artificial, made by magic to stop the intruders. After half an hour of walking, they stood in front of a small hill with a cave. The opening was narrow.
The duo moved in slowly, the Lich's mind concentrating fully on recovering, unaware that two strangers had already invaded his lair. As they came inside, they saw a big hall and a small skeleton sitting in the middle, cross-legged.
Suddenly, the Lich sensed someone's hostile gaze, and it made him open his eyes in a hurry. He saw two strangers looking at him evilly, with wicked grins on their faces.
"If it isn't the almighty Lich Xaren," Eryndor mocked.
"What has happened to the almighty Xaren? How has he become a small version of himself?" Krog added, chuckling.
"You... what are you two doing here? How did you find this place?" Xaren asked, his voice shaking with rage.
"A dead Lich doesn't need to know about that," Eryndor said, his sword already unsheathed.
"Wait, don't kill me! I can be a lot of help to you... I have treasures I'll give all of them to you," Xaren said, desperation creeping into his voice.
"I don't need crap from you. You almost killed one of my men. I only want you to die a miserable death," Eryndor said, his sword raised and ready to strike.
Xaren hit one of the walls and fell down with a thud as Eryndor kicked the small baby skeleton. Eryndor charged with his sword to kill him and finish this once and for all.
"Wait, we should think about this," Krog said suddenly, grabbing Eryndor's arm and holding him back.
Eryndor stopped, looking at Krog in confusion. "What do you mean? He almost killed you," Eryndor questioned.
"Master, I know how bad you want to kill him, but look at the bigger picture here. We have another massive fish to fry," Krog reminded Eryndor.
"I'm not in the habit of leaving my enemies alive," Eryndor rebuked, his grip on his sword tightening.
"I was one of your enemies too," Krog said, his voice calm and rational.
"You're not helping here, Krog," Eryndor said, his frustration growing.
"I... I can sign a master-slave binding contract with you," Xaren stuttered, trying to intervene.
Eryndor and Krog turned to look at Xaren, who was still lying on the ground. "If you kill me now, you can only have the treasures inside this lair, but I have one more, a larger treasure trove I've hidden somewhere else. Compared to that one, this is like an ant's nest," Xaren said, his eyes pleading.
"You're not deceiving me, are you?" Eryndor asked, his gaze piercing.
"I'm not, I'm not," Xaren said, his voice shaking.
"Are you sure?" Eryndor asked, looking at Krog.
"I am. We don't have the luxury to kill a valuable toy," Krog said, his expression serious.
"Alright," Eryndor said after thinking for a while.
Lich Xaren presented a master-slave binding token. The master had to place his energy on the token and then place the token on the head of the slave. As Eryndor put his energy inside the token, it started glowing, and then he placed the token on the head of the Lich Xaren. The token instantly dissolved, and a rune was formed on the Lich's head, symbolizing that he was now bound as a slave.
"Show me the treasure," Eryndor commanded.
"Yes, Master," Xaren said, his voice now laced with submission.
The Lich Xaren thought internally that as long as he was alive, he could find a way to escape the contract and then take his revenge. But for now, he had to play along and obey his new master.
"Follow me, Master," Xaren said, getting up and leading Eryndor and Krog deeper into the lair.
As they walked, Eryndor couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction and triumph. He had finally caught the Lich and had him right where he wanted him.