《The Life and (Un)Death of a Dark Elf》 Chapter 0.1 - First Encounter Rikdah was awakened by the golden rays of the sun shining through the small window of the room rented by him. The dark elf still felt tired and sleepy after journeying yesterday. He put on his black cloak and went downstairs to get something to eat. The taverns main hall in broad daylight seemed different yet familiar. Rikdah was amongst the few to get up this early. The dark elf glanced upon the bartender and owner of the establishment. He was an old man, somewhere around the age of 60. Most people didnt live this long. Many died either serving their country or because of the many deadly diseases spreading through these parts of the island. Rikdah calmly ordered some bread and an unknown kind of meat. He didnt dare to ask what it was. It was going to be an uneventful day. The dark elf had nothing pressing to do and could just rest. After all, Habrion was just a weeks ride from here His final destination was in the palm of his hand. But Rikdah didnt know why he wanted to go to the capital city of a small country surrounded by fogs and located in the middle of nowhere. Though technically part of the continent, the island of Haon was surrounded by a sea of corrosive fogs. They could only be crossed by ships coated with a special kind of metal. Yet the isle was isolated and hidden within the Great Fogs. In reality Rikdah was exiled from his home country for an unknown reason. At least he didnt want to share it. That didnt matter now. Nothing of interest was done other than drinking. Evening was approaching, its darkness slowly enveloping the earth itself. Once more Rikdah found himself inside the inn. He wasnt waiting for anyone in particular and waited for time to pass and for his stamina to recover so he could continue towards Habrion. His wish wasnt going to come true. Two people (if someone could call them that) entered the inn. One was 2,5 meters high with shoulders which were twice as wide as Rikdahs. He had red scales and was a member of the proud Dragonborn race. The other was 2 meters tall with long white hair and angelic features marking him as an Aasimar. The two walked to the bar where Rikdah sat. The dark elf wasnt particularly strong when it came to physical attributes. But he was a Warlock and as such wasnt to be underestimated, even if he was a low level one. The two strangers approached Rikdah.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Why are you here? asked the angelic being. Why would I be here? To go to Habrion, of course. There would be no other reason to visit this hole neglectfully answered the Drow. Truth be told He wasnt very social even before being cast out. He would study ancient tomes instead of talking to others. So We are going in the same direction. Are you interested in coming with us? There seems to be no reason to refuse. And considering the Aasimars kind nature you two wouldnt be interested in robbing me. I will accompany you. The Dragonborn wasnt the talkative kind. That or he wasnt able to speak. Rikdah was wondering why they asked him to join their group. It didnt seem to have any particular reason. They would be able to defeat any treat that may come to them. And the dark elf didnt look rich either so they couldnt be after a reward. Whatever the reason might have been he didnt mind having someone to watch his back so he wasnt going to refuse. So when are we going to go? Also, I didnt catch your name asked the Aasimar. We should wait for morning. I dont like traveling at night Oh, and my name is Rikdah. Well, in that case nice to meet you Rikdah. I am Baldor Arin and my companion is Dragondor Aleksious. With the pleasantries out of the way the newly formed group could go and rest for the night. They headed towards the stairs leading to the second floor of the inn. As they were about to climb the first step a man rushed inside the inn. An Oni appeared! Someone must get a message to the adventurers guild in Habrion he shouted. The Aasimar smiled as if he was waiting for someone to give him a quest, a reason to live. He went to the tired man hastily and said hed deliver the message. Taking on such a request lacked any sort of logical thinking behind it. Why would he want to help out a random village in the middle of nowhere with zero incentive to do so? To Rikdah it didnt matter. He just wanted to get away from this place once and for all and to be enable to establish a new life somewhere else. He wasnt concerned with other peoples business. But no, that one of his companions accepted such a silly thing. He could not help but agree to deliver it. The plan to leave in the morning was canceled. They had more urgent business to attend to. The party hurried to the stables where their mounts awaited them. Once nearby they saw smoke coming from the forest. The locals had started a fire in attempt to chase away the monster. It was a futile attempt. Oni werent scared easily. Once inside the stables the party members hastily untied their horses, saddled them and set off on their journey to Habrion. Chapter 0.2 - Habrion Chapter 2 - Habrion The humid and warm air of the great swamps was making the journey harder than expected. That and the fact the party had chosen not to go around the swamps but pass through them made what at first seemed like a days ride to take more than a day and a half. At least it had given them enough time to think about what they are going to do once in the capital. It was strait forward list the quest in the adventurers guild and wait for a random opportunist to accept it. The only problem was the reward the party wasnt going to give a hefty sum of their already diminishing funds away for something like this. In the worst case scenario they would be the people who would have to deal with the Troll like creature. Approaching the gates of the walled city a patrol of guards stopped them. They inquired about their business in town but ultimately let them pass. What could a small party of three seemingly low level adventurers do? Once inside the three heroes headed towards the Adventurers Guild. The building itself was hard to miss the Victorian architecture of the building made it stand out. Its impressive size was close to a castle but it was by far not the biggest building in town. That prize went to the kings castle. The two stone giants standing in the center of town were like guardians protecting the city from all that may harm it. When the party entered the Guild through a big iron gate made to fit a carriage. The door when opened creaked as if it was in pain. The main hall revealed itself. The second floor supported only by the stone pillars in four points of the room. The counter where a line of adventurer waiting for their turn to turn in a quest, or peasant hoping for a hero to accept their quest to resque lost village girls or to kill the pesky goblins in the nearby forest. Not many dangerous quests were handed here, this was a fairly peaceful island where not many monsters stayed or the few that did got killed by one of the many adventurers trying to make a profit. Baldor as the self proclaimed leader of the party went over to the counter where a smaller queue awaited this was where quests got approved by the guild. The young lady at the desk was trying her best to process as many people as possible If their request got approved quicker they would have more of a chance to receive help she thought. When it was his turn the young Asimar handed the request on the man from the small town. Though we cannot offer any kind of reward we would like to request a quest for a Beast Slayer to get rid of a certain Oni who has been terrorizing the village said Baldor the young lady who revealed her name to be Liara said in a sorry tone Sadly the guild cannot compensate the adventurers for their work and not many are willing to do charity work furthermore we cannot issue a quest with no reward.Baldor wasnt amused. He wasnt able to provide the necessary funds for a reward and surely he could not ask his newly found comrade to give his own money. Returning to the other two members of the party he said: Well boys we are going to have to take care of this ourselves. Aleksious gazed at Baldor with disregard. Slowly walked towards the exit of the Guild with determination he seemed to have accepted the outrageous proposal of the Asimar though Rikdah wasnt willing to risk his own life for a village he had no connection to with frustration he said: And you expect me to risk me own life for no one of significance and also no actual benefit to myself, like many of the adventurers I dont do charity work Baldors expression didnt change.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Do you think they are going to let you stay in town or even give you a citizenship you are a nobody if you bring them the head of on Oni on the other hand. They wouldnt let the savior of a village to go unrewarded Rikdah unconvinced said. And you think we have any chance against that thing an Oni is said to be like a troll in terms of strength and they are smarter than Trolls. How do you plan to kill it? We dont even have weapons Baldor didnt answer just smiled. I am going to guess you arent going to tell me. Rikdah sighed seeing as his companion isnt giving him the option of backing down Might as well come with you if you fail at least I can collect your gear and deliver it to someone close to you Baldor looking surprised in truth he never expected Rikdah to come with them following the example of his friend Baldon walked out of the hall with the Dark Elf following him. Before they can head out the group had to rest after a day and half of riding you would surely be exhausted. Wondering around town and seeing people haggle with street vendors, children playing and trading wagons going around was refreshing for Rikdah. He could not remember the last time he had went to a large city. His home town was large one of the largest but Drows lived in the Underdark a huge cave system. Not many traders and wondering merchants passed through there. The party had to look for a tavern or an inn somewhere where they wouldnt charge an arm and a leg for a nights stay. Having found themselves on the main street it wouldnt be too hard to find inn. Taverns here were plentiful many travelers would pass through here to collect their rewards from quests. The hard part was finding one which would let the group stay the night. Eventually the main road led to a market Rikdah wasnt quite sure where to look for an inn anymore it felt like the party had looked all over town why was it so hard to find a place to stay the night. The Dark Elf settled on asking a stranger for direction. Looking around him he saw all kinds of people. Many people walker all around the curious dark elf. But turning around he saw a man bumping into another and stealing the pouch full of gold from his waist. He wouldnt have gotten involved but as expected the Baldor who was standing next to Rikdah was already chasing the thief. Seeing the dragonborn follow suit he was left with no choice but to go and help himself. The man who was robbed didnt seem to notice and kept walking. The thief on the other hand was fast, running through the crowd and going into an alley way. Baldor was already catching up to the thief. But Rikdahs frail caster body was not prepared for this kind of physical activity so he was lagging behind. When he did catch up it was too late once inside the alley way Baldor got surrounded by three other thieves the person who did this obviously expected someone so self righteous to fall into their trap. Now not only did they get the mans gold but they would get the chance to rob an adventurer. Thought that wasnt their goal they wanted more members for their so called Thieves Guild. Baldor for the first time in his life actually felt threatened what Rikdah expected of his was to stand up to the muggers and defend himself though without the aid of the dragonborn at his side he felt weak. Where Aleksious had gone no one could say for certain the only thing which mattered was that he wasnt here. Baldor was giving into the pressure of the three men holding two handed swords. Luckily they hadnt spotted the Dark Elf lurking behind the corner. If he decided to attack he would get the drop on them though attack with what he had no weapon, magic was the answer but his spells werent strong enough to take them on. He would have to figure a way out of this without actually fighting. He could try to reason with the muggers and give them all their gold but where would they stay the night then. Thinking for a few more seconds he came up with a plan. Jumping out of his cover he shouted Stop The three thieves baffled looked behind the angelic being and saw a single Dark Elf holding nothing and not channeling a spell. They started laughing. I have a proposal for you the elf said. I overheard you talking about the Thieves Guild a few minutes ago. If you let him go we will join you in your endeavors to conquer this city for yourselves Rikdah never believed this would dismay the three thieves to let them go and prepared for a sharp blade to go through his chest. Though it never came the one thing which did though was a strong hit with something on the back of Rikdahs head. He fell to the ground unconscious. Chapter 0.3 - Dream Darkness was all that Rikdah could see. He didnt know where he. The feeling the he belonged here, the thought that this was his home made the Dark Elf shiver. In truth he had come to this unknown place before though the memory of how escaped him. You have returned said a low voice. This voice just like the darkness around him was familiar. Once more a shiver ran down his spine. A human like figure was now visible. Come to me, puppet uttered the shadow. Rikdahs body started moving almost on its own. When he got close to the figure, a pair of demonic wings sprouted from his back. His skin looked as red as the setting sun, the swirling horns which protruded from his forehead were white, a pair of fangs poked out of his mouth from his lower jaw. These demonic features however couldnt hide his beauty. The created was a Blood Prince a child of a succubus. He was also Rikdahs patron. The time has come for you to fulfill your end of the bargain The Drow just looked at him, sacred he dared not question what the Blood Prince would demand of him. Demons especially high ranked ones such as this were very hard to please. Rikdah braced himself for what his patron have to say. Youve heard of the Castle of the Archon. You will become Archon claim it and deliver a relic from its reliquary.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Baffled the Dark Elf looked at the demon in front of him. He had no chance to refuse or his soul would be shattered. But this wasnt as bad as what other patrons would demand. Deep down he was thankful for his choice. The Blood Prince didnt need an answer. Waking up was made easy thanks to a bucket of water dumped on him. Rikdah once more found himself in an unfamiliar place. This time it was a small stone room presumably underground. He was tied rather uncomfortably to a wooden chair which wasnt very sturdy. Two men were standing in front of the dark elf. One of them was the thief from before. The other was dressed in plate armor, he wasnt wearing a helmet so his red skin was visible. His hair was made of light and it definitely wasnt from this realm of existence, he had two wings on his back which were the same color as his hair and made of the same otherworldly light. The thing revealed its name to be ZakChatan. He was a fallen angel. I will skip the introductions, the only thing you need to know is my name. As for why you are here an outsider to town like yourself could come in handy for the guild and we have a certain task we need you to make. An assassination attempt on the mayor. Now you may be wondering why would you ever want to do such a thing and the answer is really quite simple. We have your friends and we are going to kill them if you refuse. So what do you say? the tone he said this in was very confident he was sure a person couldnt reject that offer. How would I have to kill the mayor? You dont think I am a trained assassin. Besides these people arent really my friends in the first place. But I have the sneaking suspicion you wont let me leave if I reject that offer. answered Rikdah. That suspicion is correct. Neither you or your party is going to make it out alive if you dont fulfill this task. In that case tell me where he lives and I will do it. The creature smiled. Chapter 0.4 – “Heroes” Having agreed to ZakChatans offer the drow was shown the way out of the dungeon he was in. On his way out he was surrounded by stone hallways and prisoner cells the room he was in was the interrogation camber of the prison. Rikdah and his escorts reached a wooden trap door which when opened revealed the interior of a seemingly normal house. Light shined through the windows, just how long had he spend there. Looking outside the windows all that could be seen were fields where a yellow plant grew. He was free to go and his escorts were uninterested in following him. With his friends hostage he would surely do the job. Not seeing them on his way out of the place mend they were somewhere else it was rather obvious. They wouldnt want him to know where exactly so he could plan an escape attempt. Having no choice but to embark upon his newly given quest Rikdah exited the house. A road leads towards Habrion. His horse was tied to a nearby fence, how would they know which horse was his though. The guild seems to have very good intel on the party. That was to be expected though. The gates of the capital drew near. This time the patrol of guard didnt stop RIkdah. Inside was all the same as if no time had passed. Knowing where he needed to go Rikdah made his way to the Lords castle. It was easy to find considering its size rivaled that of the Adventurers Guild. The tricky part would be getting inside the thing. Surely they wouldnt just let him pass. Going up to the iron gate of the gardens two guards were standing duty. They raised their weapons as they saw the drow approaching they asked Rikdah what he needed. I need to deliver aletter to the mayor unconfidently said. In truth he never thought that this would work. Sure said one of the guards Ill open the gate just wait a second. Rikdah was baffled. How did that work? The guard noticed his uncertainty but didnt say anything. The door opened slowly. The two men seemingly uninterested in escorting the dark elf moved aside and let him pass. The drow still not being able to comprehend what just happened walked inside. He didnt have any idea what to do now. Having gone inside the main building all that was needed was to find the Lords office and kill him. It seemed so simple. The hallways were long but instead of stone now they were decorated with red wallpaper, many decorative vases stood on small tables scattered around the hallway. One of the servants noticed his inability to navigate the maze like halls and kindly showed the way to office of the mayor. This door was bigger than the rest and was better decorated. It had an engraved eagle on it which held a sword and a shield. Knocking on the door proved it to be the right one. A middle aged male voice came from inside the room.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Coming he seemed annoyed that someone would disturb his solitude. A key sounded from inside and the door sprung open. Behind it stood a well dressed man with short hair. He introduced himself as Lord Indam rules of this island. So you are the person who got abducted by the thiefs guild yesterday. Glad to see you are still alive. confidently said the lord I also know you are here to kill me. But I am confident enough I can persuade you do to leak information to me and in return you can live the peaceful life you always wanted. Rikdah was amazed although the offer sounded sweet too sweet. The Lord had to have some sort of ulterior motive except the elimination of the thiefs guild. Though the drow didnt hesitate give him an answer. I didnt know how and dont want to know how you figured out I work for them. Though now that you do in fact know I am left with choice but to comply and the offer doesnt sound bad. Ill give you the location of the Guild. Rikdah searched though his pocked finding the map of the town he had bought from the market the previous day he pointed at the location he had been kept in. The Dark Elf wasnt stupid he very much knew this wasnt their hideout but it was the only reliable information he could provide. With the thiefs guild Information gathering abilities they would surely know and expected him to betray them, so they couldnt possibly be this stupid. I will make good use of this information. Now go and hide somewhere the guild is going to come after you. I could provide you a room here they wouldnt dare come here. I appreciate the offer, a room would indeed be quite nice. said the drow Make yourself comfortable. Ill call a servant to show you to your room. One more thing before I go. Do you have a wizard I can ask for information about spells and the like? Well yes but I am not sure he would be able to help you. But I will ask him to visit you when you get settled in. You have my thanks. The lord went outside and seeing one of his servants clean the hall he asked him to show the Elf the way. Rikdah followed the butler to his newly assigned room. He could finally rest without having to worry about his own safety. Going inside the room he heard the door getting locked from the outside as well two guards in heavy armor walking towards the room from the left side of the hall. Though they only stayed outside and didnt go inside the room to disturb him. Guards being assigned to him wasnt unexpected but were they meant to keep anyone from coming inside the room or keeping the elf inside, He didnt mind it though and fell fast asleep. Chapter 0.5 Meanwhile in another dungeon cell. Baldor was still asleep, all that traveling had really tired him. After a few more minutes he woke up. He was in a small stone cell two people were guarding his cell. He couldnt possibly break the iron bars or escape in any way so why were they there. The two guards noticed the movements. Even more time passed. ZakChtan appeared in front of the cell of the angelic being. As much as I hate to lock up another angelic being I have to at least for the time being. sarcastically said ZakChtan. As for why I have locked you up, well you will see soon enough. Enjoy your stay. Baldor chose to stay silent. And again he found himself with nothing to do but to go back asleep.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Darkness enveloped RIkdah. He had found himself once more in the presence of his patron. This time the drow had come voluntarily. He had some business to sort out with this being. You have come to me once more, perhaps demanding something or handing me an even bigger part of your humanity. We shall see. You already know my intentions of coming here but I suppose I will entertain you for a little bit. My current situation has worsened and I would need a certain relic to ease it. The Mask of Many Faces. Ah I was wondering when you would ask for a relic. The price has already been paid. It is yours. Rikdah awoke from his sleep with a pale white featureless mask next to him. It was the artifact he had asked for, the price for which was the completion of a task his patron had ask of him a long time ago. Trying it on it did fit perfectly. Chapter 0.6 A robed figured entered the Rikdahs room with magical flames sparking in his eyes. You asked the mayor for me come see you. What do you need? I was just interested in learning more about undead. They have always been fascinating to me. I do have a couple of books on them. If you would follow me I will lead you to my library. The wizard walked out of the room. Rikdah stood up from the bed on which he was sitting on and slowly followed him. Stopping him at the doorway one of the two guards outside said: The lord has a task for you when you finish your business with the wizard. Rikdah nodded his head in agreement and continued following the wizard. The room of the wizard wasnt very far from Rikdahs. The door of the room was engraved with runes loaded with arcane energy. The robed man didnt mind the runes and opened the door. Inside the room was messy, there were books everywhere. One of the shelves immediately cught the Dark Elfs attention it was full of scrolls some of which were scrolls of teleportation, Rikdah had rarely seen this kind of scroll. He knew that he would need it if he wanted to travel to the Castle of the Archon. By the way my name is Alexander. Nice to meet you. Im Rikdah, nice to meet you too. About the books I wanted to borrow - are you sure you know where they are? What do you mean? Of course I know where they are. He looked through the piles of books on one of the many shelves fell and opened itself. It was an old leather bound tome with a symbol which was almost unrecognizable due to the time it had spent in this pile. It caught the Drows attention. Rikdah kneeled to pick it up but the wizard was too occupied to notice what his guest was doing. What was written inside the book was in old elvish which seemed strange to him. Quickly looking through it the contents seemed insignificant, but on closer inspection it revealed itself to be the journal of a powerful lich, complete with all the recipes for his dark rituals and spells. Why would this wizard have this? And what is up with the runes on the door, a detection mechanism maybe? was all Rikdah could think about at this moment. A cold arm grabbed Rikdahs shoulder. He jumped up from this surprise, his heart skipped a beat. He was so lost in thought that he never noticed the wizard who was now standing behind him, and asked him several times if this was what he needed. The Dark elf wasnt the only one surprised seeing as the wizard had already prepared a spell and was going to cast it at the unsuspecting elf. Neither one moved, they just stared at each other and after Alexander had stopped channeling the spell they continued.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I found this book about the undead it is an encyclopedia on them with some additional notes about liches, these buggers are a pain in the ass to fight. Thank you, can I borrow the book and go to my room or do I need to read them here? Either way is fine. Ok then, if that is everything I shall be on my way. Rikdah had a few things on his mind to think about while going on his short way to his room. The strange things which he saw today deserved more time to think about. At the door of his room stood the two guards looking at a particular spot on the wall. Seeing the elf approaching they mentioned that the lord wanted to see him. Guess nothing could be done about that. He thought Ill go after a minute or two just let me leave the books inside my room. The two men nodded in agreement. The Elf entered the room dropped the book about the undead on his desk and put the journal in the inner pocked in his cloak. Leaving the room the two guards led him to the mayors office. Rikdah already knew the way, after a short walk down the same looking hallways he found himself in front of the office. The large wooden door opened with a creek. Lord Indam was already inside, sitting on his red leather chair behind his desk. Looking aside from the documents he was signing he saw the Drow in front of him. So you did decide to show up. I will be sending a scouting party to go in the stronghold of the thiefs guild. I dont want you to go outside this castle tomorrow because the guild may be on the run and if they discover you are on my side they will kill your friends. Very well I had some books I wanted to read anyway. After this short conversation the drow went back to his room, once more followed by the two men. Entering the door he saw that the book he had borrowed was still on his desk and his bed was made and the room cleaned, presumably by one of the many servants of the lord. He sat of his bed and opened the book. None of the details were new to him his uncle was once a lich, which made Rikdah unnaturally interested in the undead. He considered them as easier to deal with than the living but here raising the dead was considered taboo so he never spawned his servants. Quickly reading past some of the pages he stumbled upon the page with the liches on it. The information was insignificant, no one wanted or got close to a lich to gather information, at least alive that is so they were unpredictable and smart, quite the dangerous combination for a monster of their power. The journal interested him more so he closed the encyclopedia and opened it. The journal itself was also interesting. It had a vague arcane aura around it which could barely be detected. It detailed the life of this lich and all the secrets he learned over the centuries which he lived. He had detailed a number of thought to be lost magical spells and ritual which no sane man would attempt. Fortunately Rikdah wasnt one of the sane. The most interesting one of them was the exact ritual of turning oneself into a lich. This greatly interested Rikdah as any way to gain more power was welcomed. His mission was difficult yet he had to complete it so any help would be welcomed. The unsettling ritual required a number of plants which could conveniently be found on this island. The decision whether or not to turn himself into a lich wasnt a new one. Rikdah had already though it out he was going to do it. This would ruin the chances of him forming a normal life once more but his patron had already done that anyway. Today was the day he fully lost his humanity.